The chapter investigates whether a 100 cm high livestock protective fence (LPF) protects humans from anthropophilic mosquitoes (mosquitoes that are attracted to and bite humans) and thus malaria. Four experimental segregated, half-roofed shelters with concrete floors were built to accomplish this. Each shelter was 6m x 7m in size and 500m apart from the other. Each shelter was then surrounded by a 100cm high chicken wire fence. However, only one of them was surrounded by an LPF on chicken wire at a time. Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KC) conducted this experimental study on a cattle farm called Boadi Cattle Farm. The experiment lasted for four weeks. Mosquitoes were caught twice a week using human landing catches (humans sitting down as bait to attract and catch mosquitoes). During the same night, two groups of two mosquito collectors (catchers) worked at each of the four shelters; one group collected from 18.00 hours to midnight, and the second group collected from midnight to 6.00 hours. One mosquito collector sat and collected inside the shelter, while the other sat and collected outside, about 20 meters away. A total of 6118 mosquitos were collected, including 773 Anopheles gambiae, 11 Anopheles funestus, 874 Anopheles ziemanni, and 4460 Culicinae. The number of mosquitoes caught in the shelters was analyzed, and there was no significant decrease (P = 0.30) in the number of A. ziemanni entering the LPF-enclosed shelters compared to the number of the same type of mosquito (A. ziemanni) entering the non-enclosed shelters. However, there was a significant (P = 0.0003) decrease in the number of culicines entering LPF-enclosed shelters compared to the number of the same mosquito type (culicines) entering non-enclosed shelters. However, the most efficient malaria vector, A. gambiae, was found in significantly greater numbers. entered the LPF-fenced shelters than in the non-LPF-fenced shelters (P = 0.0008)! Analysis of A. gambiae hourly biting activities revealed that at Boadi, the majority of them bite between 0100 and 0400. However, at two different locations in Anwomaso, 0.7 and 1.3 kilometers northeast of one of the shelters in Boadi, the majority of the same A. gambiae mosquitoes bit people at 11.00 hours and 0300 hours, respectively! Plasmodium falciparum infections were found in 1% of A. gambiae but not in A. ziemanni. All 47 A. gambiae s.l. samples that were randomly selected and tested using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) were found to be A. gambiae s.s. As a result, we reach the following conclusion:
Author(S) Details
Dr. A. Abonuusum
Department of Ecological Agriculture, School of Applied Science and Art, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, Box 767, Bolgatanga, Ghana.
K. Owusu-Daaku
Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology (TAB), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana.
A. Benjamin
Department of Statistics, School of Applied Science and Art, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, Box 767, Bolgatanga, Ghana.
B. Bauer
Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Free University of Berlin, Robert-Von-Ostertagstr. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany.
R. Garms
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM), Bernhard Nocht Str. 74, 20359 Hamburg, Germany.
T. Kruppa
Department of Molecular Parasitology, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) Bernhard Nocht Str. 74, Germany.
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