Involvement of Anopheles nili in Plasmodium falciparum transmission in North Benin

BACKGROUND: Several studies carried out in Benin have shown the involvement of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.), the Anopheles funestus group in malaria transmission, but none of them reported the contribution of the Anopheles nili group to the transmission of this disease. The current study investigated the question through an entomological cross-sectional survey performed in Northern Benin. METHODS: Mosquito samplings were performed in September and October 2017 in 4 villages located in two districts: Bambaba and Wodara (Kérou district) and, Péhunco 2 and Béké (Péhunco district). The collections were carried out indoors and outdoors using human landing catches (HLC) to assess the human biting rate (HBR) and pyrethrum spray catches (PSC) to evaluate the blood feeding rate and the blood meal origin using the ELISA test. All collected mosquitoes were morphologically identified and, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used for molecular identification of sibling species of An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus group and An. nili group sporozoite index (SI) was also assessed by the ELISA test. RESULTS: Overall, An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus group and An. nili group were the three vectors found in the study area. A significantly higher human biting rate (HBR) was recorded in An. nili group (5 bites/human/night) compared to An. funestus group (0.656 bites/human/night) in the Kérou district (p < 0.0001). Anopheles gambiae s.l. displayed the highest HBR (26.19 bites/human/night) in the same district. The entomological inoculation rate (EIR) was 1.875 infected bites/human/month in An. nili group against 13.05 infected bites/human/month in An. gambiae s.l. and 0.938 infected bites/human/month in An. funestus group in Kérou. In Péhunco, the EIR was 1.02 infected bites/human/month in An. gambiae s.l. PCR results showed that An. nili sensu stricto (s.s.) and An. funestus s.s. were the only species of the An. nili and An. funestus groups, respectively. The anthropophagic character of An. gambiae s.l. was also highlighted. CONCLUSION: This study provides useful information on the contribution of An. nili group as secondary vector to malaria transmission in northern Benin. Broader studies must also be carried out in a larger study area to assess the involvement of other Anopheles species to malaria transmission. This will aid to better plan malaria vector control interventions.