Sadiq Ullah Khan, Rahmat Ali Khan.
Characterisation of breeding sites of anopheline mosquitoes in District Bannu, KPK, Pakistan.
J Pak Med Assoc Jan ;68(2):175-86.

Objective: To highlight the role of habitat evaluation in reducing the potential transmission risk of malaria. Methods: This study was conducted from January to June, 2015, in District Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, where 64 larval habitats were characterised in 10 villages of the district. The larvae habitat features, like its permanent or temporary nature, artificial or natural, basic type, substrate type and vegetation, anopheline and culicine larval presence and density, were noted. ArcGIS 9.2 was used to map the mosquitoe breeding sites. Data was analysed related to the effect of temperature, rainfall and relative humidity on larval occurrence and density. Results: Of the 64 breeding habitats characterised, 26(40.6%) were temporary, while the remaining 38(59.4%) were permanent. Anopheline larvae were found in different types of habitats and occurred in man-made and temporary habitats with high population density. The marshlands (rice fields, sugarcane and open drains) were positive for anopheline larvae. The climatic factors like rain and humidity positively affected the larval density. The larval density was high in March and April at temperatures ranging from 16.1Co-23.45oC. Conclusion: Targeting the man-made and temporary larval habitats could results in the effective anopheline mosquitoes larvae control.

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