Distribution of Malaria Vectors in India: An Update
Abstract
Malaria continues to be a major public health concern in India and is targeted for elimination aligning with the sustainable development goal (SDG) by 2030. In spite of significant progress in reducing the disease
burden, the challenges in malaria elimination still exist mainly because malaria transmission in the country is under the grip of nine established vectors. Among these, the primary vectors are Anopheles (An) culicifacies,
An. stephensi, An. minimus, An. fluviatilis, An. baimaii and An. epiroticus. The vectors of secondary importance are An. annularis, An. varuna, and An. philippinensis. These vector mosquitoes show different bionomics, especially in resting and feeding behaviour resulting in different transmission dynamics. In addition to the established 6 primary and 3 secondary vectors, a few more Anophelines have also been incriminated and established to transmit malaria in localized areas. However, the validation through multicentric studies is yet to be done, therefore under the national programme, only these 9 vectors are considered. Historic data from 1934 onwards has indicated the prevalence of different Anophelines in different geographical areas and has established the malaria vectors based on the sporozoite incrimination. This necessitates the mapping of the geographical dominance of these vectors to facilitate entomological surveillance and their response to vector control measures. This paper is an update on the distribution of 9 malaria vectors in India in different time
periods based on historical data, publications and entomological reports.
How to cite this article:
Baruah K, Hari I, Viswan K A, Srivastava P K.
Distribution of Malaria Vectors in India: An
Update. J Commun Dis. 2024;56(1):171-183.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202423
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