Mosquito Species Composition in Nasarawa Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Numerous mosquito species are capable of carrying various tropical diseases.  This study ascertained the composition of mosquitoes in Nasarawa Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Central Nigeria.  Adult mosquitoes were collected between 0600 and 0900 hours in the morning using a battery-operated Prokopack aspirator.  The mosquitoes were then placed in a petri dish with proper labelling and taken to a laboratory for identification and dissection.  Using a dissecting microscope and identification key, mosquitoes were sorted and morphologically classified according to their morphological features.  The mosquito midgut was dissected to check for sporozoites infectivity.  The man-biting rate (MBR) and indoor resting density (IRD) were computed.  A total of 314 adult mosquitoes, spanning four species and belonging to the Anopheline and Culicine mosquito groups, were found to be resting indoors with An. gambiae representing 39.2% of the total composition.  A significant difference in mosquito abundance (χ2= 58.866, df = 3, P=0.001) was observed between the four species that were reported.  There is no discernible variation in the mosquito composition in the research region (χ2= 4.861, df = 2, P = 0.088).  A statistically significant variance in sex was noted (χ2=285.235, df = 2, P = 0.000).  The biting rate was recorded at 2.6 bites per person per night, and an indoor resting density of 5.23 mosquitoes per room per night was recorded.  There was a noteworthy distinction in the abdomen condition of the mosquitoes (χ2 = 45.564, df = 3, p < 0.001).  Mosquito species abundance in October was 200 (63.7%), compared to 114 (36.3) in September.  Nonetheless, a noteworthy distinction was observed in the abundance of mosquito species throughout the research months (χ2= 7.5076, df = 1, P-value = 0.006).  Based on the study's findings that provided insight into the species composition of the mosquito population in the study area, it is recommended to remove possible breeding grounds, promote the use of insecticide-treated nets, and prioritize interrupting vector-human contact as a means of halting the spread of malaria parasites.