Seasonal distribution, parity, resting, host-seeking behavior and association of malarial parasites of Anopheles stephensi Liston in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Indoor resting and human-landing mosquito collections were conducted at selected localities in Kolkata, India to determine resting and host-seeking behavior, night biting activity, seasonal distributions and malaria infection rates. During a two-year study (2006–2007), 5123 and 1716 female mosquitoes were captured in indoor-resting and human-landing collections, respectively, from two types of residences (brick built rooms, temporary huts). Regression analysis demonstrated that the abundance of indoor resting An. stephensi was positively correlated with ambient temperature and relative humidity. The average duration of the gonotrophic cycle for laboratory-reared An. stephensi was about 4 days. Average proportion of parous An. stephensi, daily survival and daily mortality rates were 46%, 82% and 18%, respectively. Plasmodium vivax sporozoite infections were detected in the salivary glands of two wild-caught An. stephensi (sporozoite rate 2.2%) and one An. annularis (sporozoite rate 1.5%). No P. falciparum infections were detected. Oocyst infections were observed in one An. annularis mosquito (oocyst rate 1.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]