Application of a biochemical key to study transmission of malaria and Bancroftian filariasis in sibling species of the Anopheles gambiae complex in north-eastern Tanzania.

A biochemical key was applied in order to study transmission of malaria and Bancroftian filariasis in Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, An. arabiensis and An. merus in different localities in north-eastern Tanzania. The technique was found to be a useful additional taxonomic tool for field entomologists. Significant differences between species in the rate of infection with Bancroftian filariasis were obtained between An. gambiae s.s. and An. funestus (P less than 0.005) and between An. funestus and An. arabiensis (P less than 0.0001). There were also significant differences between most of the investigated localities in the rate of filarial infection. However, there were no significant differences between the three species or between localities with respect to malaria sporozoite rates. Possible reasons for the observed variation between species and localities with respect to vectorial activity for Bancroftian filariasis are discussed.