Affiliations 

  • 1 Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich at Medway, Chatham Maritime, Kent, ME4 4TB, UK
  • 2 Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, 88400, Malaysia
  • 3 Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE, UK
  • 4 Disease Control Division, Ministry of Health, Federal Government Administration Centre, Putrajaya, Malaysia
  • 5 Division of Public Health, Sabah Department of Health, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
  • 6 Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, 88400, Malaysia. thchua@ums.edu.my
Sci Rep, 2019 09 16;9(1):13312.
PMID: 31527622 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49842-2

Abstract

In lowland areas of Malaysia, Plasmodium knowlesi infection is associated with land use change and high proportions of the vector Anopheles balabacensis. We conducted a 15-month study in two Malaysian villages to determine the effect of habitat on vector populations in understudied high-altitude, high-incidence districts. Anopheles mosquitoes were sampled in human settlements, plantations and forest edges, and screened for Plasmodium species by PCR. We report the first An. donaldi positive for P. knowlesi. This potential vector was associated with habitat fragmentation measured as disturbed forest edge:area ratio, while An. balabacensis was not, indicating fragmented land use could favour An. donaldi. Anopheline species richness and diversity decreased from forest edge, to plantation, to human settlement. Greater numbers of An. balabacensis and An. donaldi were found in forest edges compared to human settlements, suggesting exposure to vectors and associated zoonoses may be greater for people entering this habitat.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.