Spatial distribution of Malaria Vectors in Northeast India (2006 – 2012)

Abstract The North-East (NE) India has been the epicenter for the origin of drug-resistant malaria parasites in India, and malaria control in NE is critical to India’s malaria elimination efforts. Targeted malaria intervention through vector control strategies is possible only when the mosquito epidemiology of the region is clearly defined. Here, we detail the distribution of malaria vectors in the eight NE states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura from 2006 to 2012. The geographic information system was used to map the spatial distribution of the Anopheles spp. identified from different parts of the NE. In the study, twenty-seven Anopheles spp. were identified, and the Anopheles density was highest in Arunachal Pradesh and lowest in Manipur and Sikkim. An. maculatus was the most abundant species in the NE, and was followed by An. minimus and An. dirus. An. hyrcanus, An. vagus and An. philippinensis/nivipes were the other major species distributed across the NE. The Indo-Bangladesh international border showed a high abundance of An. minimus. An. maculatus is the major species in the Sub-Himalayan terrain along the Assam – Arunachal Pradesh border. This study on mosquito distribution will serve as a key reference for examining evolving vector-parasite relationships in NE India and assessing how deforestation and climate change impact the current distribution of Anopheles.