Larval habitat characteristics and predicting the distribution of Culex tritaeniorhynchus using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modelin Golestan Province (north of Iran).

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Culex tritaeniorhynchus is a widely distributed and medically important mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae). The aim of this study was to determine characteristics of larval habitats and predict the distribution of Cx. Tritaeniorhynchus using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model in Golestan Province (north of Iran). METHODS: Overall, 53 villages and cities from the 14 counties in the Golestan Province were studied. Suitable habitats for sampling of mosquitoes were determined in the selected villages. Larval sampling was carried out 10 times using a standardized dipper (350 ml). Captured larvae in each dipper were counted and kept in special containers. Larvae were put in lactophenol and were then mounted on microscope slides prepared according to the de Faure's formula. All villages where Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was isolated from were considered as the species presence points, and their coordinates were extracted from the GIS. The obtained data were entered into the model in Microsoft Excel 2003. Layers required for the study were obtained from the World Clim global climate database at a spatial resolution of 1 km2. The MaxEnt software (version 3.3.3) was used to predict the most suitable ecological niches of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. RESULTS: Out of the 5168 specimens collected from 53 villages and cities, 1097 specimens (21%) were identified as Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. The central and western areas of the province are environmental suitability areas for distribution of this species compared to the other areas. Area under curve (AUC) value for Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was 0.888. Environmental variables with highest gain in the model were precipitation of coldest quarter (bio19), maximum temperature of warmest month (bio5) and slope. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Precipitation and temperature are important determinants of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus distribution in Golestan Province.

Anopheline species composition in borderline of Iran-Azerbaijan.

Malaria is still one of the most important health-problems in the world and is endemic in Iran. Since 1994, after collapse of former Soviet Union, a new threat of malaria importation emerged from those countries into the northern Iran. This work was carried out to provide further evidence on the status of anopheline species composition, the malaria parasite species, and natural infectivity of mosquitoes distributed in Pars-Abad district, on the borderline of Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. Mosquitoes were collected from May to December 2008 in anopheline seasonal activity and were identified at the species level. The genus- and species-specific primers against Plasmodium ssrDNA gene were used for specific amplification on female mosquito head+thorax. Members of the Anoheles maculipennis complex were identified by sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer II (ITS2-rDNA). Morphological character-based identification showed that out of 1455 anopheline female specimens, 1121 (77%) were of A. maculipennis s.l. and 334 (23%) were of Anoheles hyrcanus. Molecular analysis of the species complex indicated the presence of Anoheles sacharovi 984 (67.6%) and A. maculipennis 137 (9.4%) in the region. None of themosquito's head-thorax was found to be naturally infected by malaria parasite. Results of this study, particularly high dominance of A. sacharovi, suggest a potential risk of malaria epidemic in the region, and the need for a continuous epidemiological surveillance.

First report on Anopheles fluviatilis U in southeastern Iran.

Anopheles fluviatilis James, one of the malaria vectors in Iran, is a complex of at least three cryptic species provisionally designated as species S, T and U. These species are morphologically indistinguishable at any stage of their life cycle and can be identified only by the examination of species-specific fixed inversions in the polytene chromosomes. Recently, sequence analysis of 28S D3 and second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) regions of ribosomal DNA has revealed 7 haplotypes of S, U, T1, T2, Y, X and V within the complex. Identification of the cryptic species of the complex is of paramount importance in a disease control program due to contrasting differences in their vectorial efficiency, preference for feeding on humans and resting behavior. In this study we analyzed the sequence of 28S D3- and ITS2-rDNA loci to identify the species composition of the An. fluviatilis complex in Jiroft and Chabahar districts, two of the most important endemic malaria foci in southeastern corner of Iran. The ITS2 sequence analysis revealed that all of the An. fluviatilis specimens were identical to the Y/T2 haplotype of An. fluviatilis T, whereas D3 sequence analysis revealed presence of species T in Jiroft and species U in Chabahar district. It is the first report of species U in Iran.

Comparative performance of imagicides on Anopheles stephensi, main malaria vector in a malarious area, southern Iran.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Jiroft district has subtropical climate and prone to seasonal malaria transmission with annual parasite index (API) 4.2 per 1000 in 2006. Anopheles stephensi Liston is a dominant malaria vector. The monitoring of insecticide susceptibility and irritability was conducted using discriminative dose as described by WHO. METHODS: The IV instar larvae were collected from different larval breeding places and transported to the temporary insectary, fed with Bemax and then 2-3 days-old emerged and sugar-fed adults were used for susceptibility and irritability tests employing WHO methods and kits to organochlorine (OC) and pyrethroid (PY) insecticides. RESULTS: Mortality rates of field strain of An. stephensi were 91.3 +/- 0.14 and 90 +/- 0.47% to DDT and dieldrin, respectively at one hour exposure time but was susceptible to all pyrethroids tested. The average number of take-offs per min per adult was 2.09 +/- 0.13 for DDT, 0.581 +/- 0.05 for dieldrin, 1.85 +/- 0.08 for permethrin, 1.87 +/- 0.21 for lambda-cyhalothrin, 1.53 +/- 0.13 for cyfluthrin, and 1.23 +/- 0.1 for deltamethrin. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION: Currently, deltamethrin is being used for indoor residual spraying against malaria vectors in the endemic areas of Iran. The findings revealed that the main malaria species is susceptible to all pyrethroids including deltamethrin, permethrin, cyfluthrin and lambda-cyhalothrin but was tolerant to DDT and dieldrin. This report and the finding are coincided with results of previous studies carried out during 1957-61 in the same area. Irritability tests to OC and PY insecticides revealed the moderate level of irritability to DDT compared to pyrethroids and dieldrin. Monitoring for possible cross-resistance between OC and PY insecticides should come into consideration for malaria control programme.