Are Dawn Collections of Anopheles stephensi a Better Method To Estimate the Resting Vector Density? A Study from Chennai, India.

The study was an attempt to capture Anopheles stephensi from cattle sheds during dawn to understand the realistic density of the resting mosquitoes. A 2-year longitudinal study was carried out in cattle sheds in close proximity to the human dwellings to collect the resting vector mosquitoes. The man-hour density of A. stephensi ranged from 24.7 to 206.5. The vector incrimination results indicated 0.15% of A. stephensi infected with Pv210 in 2015 and 0.09% in 2016. The current study has revealed that cattle sheds are the preferred resting place of A. stephensi and that dawn is the perfect time to collect and estimate its densities. Hence, adult vector control may also be given due importance in addition to the routine larval source management measures to curb malaria transmission in an urban setting.