Contribution of fish farming ponds to the production of immature Anopheles spp. in a malaria-endemic Amazonian town.
Izabel Cristina dos Reis, Cláudia Torres Codeço, Carolin Marlen Degener, Erlei Cassiano Keppeler, Mauro Menezes Muniz, Francisco Geovane Silva de Oliveira, José Joaquin Carvajal Cortês, Antônio de Freitas Monteiro, Carlos Antônio Albano de Souza, Fernanda Christina Morone Rodrigues, Genilson Rodrigues Maia, Nildimar Alves Honório
Author Information
Izabel Cristina dos Reis: Programa de Computação Científica-PROCC, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. izabio2005@gmail.com.
Cláudia Torres Codeço: Programa de Computação Científica-PROCC, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. codeco@fiocruz.br.
Carolin Marlen Degener: Programa de Computação Científica-PROCC, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. carolin.degener@fiocruz.br.
Erlei Cassiano Keppeler: Centro Multidisciplinar, Universidade Federal do Acre, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil. erleikeppeler@gmail.com.
Mauro Menezes Muniz: Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. menezes.mauro@gmail.com.
Francisco Geovane Silva de Oliveira: Centro Multidisciplinar, Universidade Federal do Acre, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil. geovaneoliveira57@hotmail.com.
José Joaquin Carvajal Cortês: Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. jjcarvajalc166@gmail.com.
Antônio de Freitas Monteiro: Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Cruzeiro do Sul, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil. freitas-monteiro@hotmail.com.
Carlos Antônio Albano de Souza: Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Cruzeiro do Sul, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil. carlosvascodagama1@hotmail.com.
Fernanda Christina Morone Rodrigues: Núcleo Operacional Sentinela de Mosquitos Vetores, NOSMOVE (Parceria DIRAC-IOC-VPAAPS/FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. nanda_morone@yahoo.com.br.
Genilson Rodrigues Maia: Secretaria de Estado de Agropecuária de, Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil. genilsonmaia@hotmail.com.
Nildimar Alves Honório: Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. honorio@ioc.fiocruz.br.
BACKGROUND: In the past decade fish farming has become an important economic activity in the Occidental Brazilian Amazon, where the number of new fish farms is rapidly increasing. One of the primary concerns with this phenomenon is the contribution of fishponds to the maintenance and increase of the anopheline mosquito population, and the subsequent increase in human malaria burden. This study reports the results of a 2-year anopheline abundance survey in fishponds and natural water bodies in a malaria-endemic area in northwest Brazil. The objective of this study was to investigate the contribution of natural water bodies (rivers, streams, creeks, ponds, and puddles) and artificial fishponds as breeding sites for Anopheles spp. in Mâncio Lima, Acre and to investigate the effect of limnological and environmental variables on Anopheles spp. larval abundance. METHODS: Natural water bodies and fishponds were sampled at eight different times over 2 years (early, mid and late rainy season, dry season) in the Amazonian town of Mâncio Lima, Acre. Anopheline larvae were collected with an entomological dipper, and physical, chemical and ecological characteristics of each water body were measured. Management practices of fishpond owners were ascertained with a systematic questionnaire. RESULTS: Fishponds were four times more infested with anopheline larvae than natural water bodies. Electrical conductivity and the distance to the nearest house were both significant inverse predictors of larval abundance in natural water bodies. The density of larvae in fishponds raised with increasing border vegetation. Fishponds owned by different farmers varied in the extent of anopheline larval infestation but ponds owned by the same individual had similar infestation patterns over time. Commercial fishponds were 1.7-times more infested with anopheline larvae compared to fishponds for family use. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that fishponds are important breeding sites for anopheline larvae, and that adequate management activities, such as removal of border vegetation could reduce the abundance of mosquito larvae, most importantly Anopheles darlingi.
