[Zoophagia and alternative host selection of the marlaia vectors in Senegal].

Blood-engorged females of An. gambiae s.l., An. funestus, An. pharoensis and An. rufipes caught resting indoors were tested (precipitin or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) to determine the source of bloodmeal. The species of the An. gambiae complex fed mainly on human hosts in all prospected areas, except in those of the mid Senegal river valley where an important zoophily was observed within and near the irrigation zone. Among 4,597 blood-engorged females of An. gambiae s.l., 29% fed on cattle with 7.5% of mixed boodmeals, mainly human-bovine or human-equine. The presence of cattle, culicid population densities and individual mosquito safety devices were the most determinant factors of animal deviation. Blood of most domestic animals was found in the stomach of collected females, but according to areas, bovines and equines were the main hosts for zoophilic females of An. gambiae s.l. Females of An. funestus collected in the middle-west were more anthropophilic than those collected in south-eastern areas. An. pharoensis was most prevalent in the Senegal river delta where it was found to be very anthropophilic. An. rufipes was strongly endophilic but exclusively zoophilic in all prospected areas.