Common Types of Anopheles Gambiae Breeding Habitats in North Western Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria constitutes a major public health concern in Nigeria, where it is exacerbated by very high
vectorial density due to favourable breeding conditions. This study investigates whether the links between
physicochemical characteristics of An. gambiae breeding habitats and their productivity (larval density) can be
used to finger print and define mosquito breeding habitats based on three most common human related activities
(residential, agricultural and petrochemical) in Northern Nigeria. The characteristics and levels of 13
physicochemical environmental factors and breeding sites productivity were determined in three common
mosquito breeding habitats (designated as study zones). Biological oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved
solids (TDS) and all the six chemical factors examined differed significantly (p<0.05) across the three study
zones. Specifically sulphates, phosphates, nitrites and nitrates levels were significantly higher in the agricultural
areas, while carbon content and oil and grease were significantly higher in the petrochemical laden breeding
ecologies. An. gambiae larval density was significantly higher in domestic environments compared to the other
two studied zones and correlated positively with BOD and transparency (p<0.05). Contrarily, the larval density
correlated negatively with pH, temperature and all the chemical factors (p<0.05). An. gambiae breeding sites
productivity was significantly affected by the levels and characteristics of some physicochemical environmental
factors, which also weightily impacted to segregate and distinctly define the major human related activities
taking place within and/or around the sites. This could pose a serious but different challenge to environmental
management and insecticides based approaches to malaria vector control in Nigeria.