Endophilic Anopheles mosquitoes in Guinea Bissau, West Africa, in relation to human housing conditions

Environmental risk factors associated with increased malaria mosquito (Anopheles) abundance indoors were studied in a suburban area, Antula, of Guinea Bissau, during the rainy seasons of 1993-1995. All bedrooms in 30 houses were searched for resting mosquitoes three times each year. The most abundant mosquito was An. gambiae s.s. Significantly greater numbers of resting mosquitoes were present in rooms with open eaves and in houses with a well on the compound. Pigs were the most common domestic animals in Antula. Presence of pigs in a house was associated with increased mosquito abundance in the bedrooms of the same house. The abundance of female mosquitoes also increased with increasing human biomass per square meter of bedroom area.