Antibody response against Anopheles albimanus (Diptera: Culicidae) salivary protein as a measure of mosquito bite exposure in Haiti.

Antibodies against arthropod saliva have shown to be a good marker of bite exposure. Because Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann (Diptera: Culicidae) is the principal malaria vector in Haiti, we evaluated the immune response against salivary gland extract (SGE) of this species in malaria-positive and malaria-negative subjects from this country. The results showed that the level of anti-SGE immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibodies was higher in patients with clinical malaria than those in malaria uninfected people living in the same region. In addition, a significant positive correlation between the level of anti-An. albimanus IgG and IgM antibody levels was observed. These results suggest that antibodies against An. albimanus saliva, especially IgG, are useful markers of mosquito bite exposure in Haiti.