In several districts of Boa Vista, state of Roraima, Brazil we found
Anopheles (
Nyssorhynchus)
albitarsis
E to be the primary vector of human malaria parasites, and during 2001-2002 it was significantly more abundant than An. darlingi (p < 0.001). Other species sampled were
An. (Nys.) braziliensis,
An. (Ano.) peryassui, An. (Nys.) nuneztovari, An. (Nys.) oswaldoi s.l., and
An. (Nys.) triannulatus. As determined by the ELISA technique
An. darlingi had a higher overall infection rate (2.1%) compared with
An. albitarsis E (1.2%). However, a marginally higher proportion of
An. albitarsis E was infected with
Plasmodium vivax
compared with
An. darlingi, and the
An. albitarsis E biting index was also much higher. These results suggest the importance of
An. albitarsis E in malaria transmission in a savannah ecoregion of northern Amazonian Brazil, and reconfirm the importance of
An. darlingi even if at lower abundance.
