Epidemiology of seasonal falciparum malaria in an urban area of Senegal.

A 15-month longitudinal survey was carried out to examine entomological and parasitological aspects of human malaria transmission in Pikine, a city located in the Sudan savanna zone on the Cap Vert peninsula in the west of Senegal. The anopheline population was sampled twice weekly indoors by night human bait capture. During the same period, thick and thin blood films were collected from 296 children at 2-month intervals. Anopheles arabiensis was the only species responsible for transmission of Plasmodium falciparum. The parasite rate showed a positive correlation with both the entomological inoculation rate and the vectorial capacity. In Pikine, malaria is epidemic and probably unstable, and the population enjoys a variable degree of immunity.