Anopheles arabiensis continues to be the primary vector of Plasmodium falciparum after decades of malaria control in southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract Background: Investigating the species distribution and their role in malaria transmission is important as it varies from place to place and is highly needed to design interventions appropriate to the site. The current study aimed to investigate the Anopheles mosquito species distribution and their infection rate in southwestern Ethiopia. Methods: This study was conducted in 14 malaria-endemic villages, which were situated in eight different malaria-endemic districts and four zones in southwestern Ethiopia. Ten per cent of households in each village were visited to collect adult mosquitoes using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps. The larval and pupal collection was done from breeding sites within the villages, and collected specimens were reared to adults. Female mosquitoes were morphologically identified. The head and thorax of adult Anopheles mosquitoes were tested for circum-sporozoite proteins (CSPs) using ELISA. At the same time, legs, wings, and abdomen were used to identify sibling species using PCR targeting the rDNA intergenic spacers region and the internal transcribed spacer 2 region genes for species typing of the An. funestus and An. gambiae complex, respectively. Results: A total of 1445 Anopheles mosquitoes comprising eight species were collected. Of 813 An. gambiae complex tested by PCR, 785 (97%) were An. arabiensis, and the remaining 28 (3%) were not amplified. There were 133 An. funestus complex captured and tested for speciation, of which 117 (88%) were positive for An. parensis, and 15 (11%) were not amplified. A single specimen (1%) showed a band with a different base pair length from the known An. funestuscomplex species. Sequencing revealed this was An. sergentii. Among 1399 Anopheles tested for CSPs by ELISA, 5 (0.4%) An. arabiensis were positive for Plasmodium falciparum and a single (0.07%) was positive for P. vivax. Conclusions: Anopheles arabiensis continues to play the principal role in malaria transmission despite implementing indoor-based interventions for decades. Sequencing results suggest that An. sergentiibelongs to the An. funestus complex.