Abundance of major malaria vectors and their population dynamics in northern districts of West Bengal, India

Abstract

The northern districts of West Bengal are known to be endemic for malaria for long time. Information regarding vector species composition, and their population dynamics is very limited from this part of the country. The present work was conducted to study the abundance of malaria vector species and their population dynamics during January, 2021 to December, 2022. Entomological survey was conducted on monthly basis. Per dip density and per man hour density was calculated. Anopheles culicifacies and An. stephensi were found to be the major malaria vectors. No significant difference was observed between the overall abundance of both larvae and adult of An. culicifacies and An. stephensi (p>0.05). The peak densities were observed between August and October, after which a gradual decline was noted across all districts. A significant positive relationship was recorded between anopheles abundance and various climatic factors. Present study finding may serves as the baseline data for formulation effective vector control measures.