%0 Journal Article
%T The Abundance and Biting Patterns of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Culicidae) in the Coastal Region of Nigeria
%A Emmanuel C. Uttah
%A Gloria N. Wokem
%A Christiana Okonofua
%J ISRN Zoology
%D 2013
%R 10.1155/2013/640691
%X This study was aimed at determining the abundance and biting patterns of Culex quinquefasciatus in the coastal region of Nigeria. Collections were done by human landing catch and by CDC miniature light traps from September 2005 to August 2006. A total of 3798 C. quinquefasciatus females were collected. The highest number of females was caught in the month of August and it represented nearly a quarter (24.0%) of the total females collected. In all, 38.8% of females dissected were parous. The abundance of C. quinquefasciatus followed the pattern of rainfall with the population starting to expand at the onset of the rains. The highest increase was found after the temperature had peaked. The mean of biting was 3.2 times more in the rainy season than in the dry season, whereas the transmission potential was higher in the dry season. C. quinquefasciatus is presently regarded as a biting nuisance having no significant epidemiological importance yet. Efforts at its control should be intensified before it is too late. 1. Introduction C. quinquefasciatus Say is a cosmopolitan mosquito with worldwide distribution, especially in the tropical and subtropical areas and is associated with human dwellings. The adult females lay eggs preferentially in relatively large, permanent aquatic habitats with high concentrations of decomposing organic matter, such as sewage effluents and septic tanks. However, immature stages of this species can be found in artificial containers often filled with polluted or organic-rich water but rarely coexist in the same container with the dengue vector Aedes aegypti [1]. C. quinquefasciatus, the southern house mosquito, has been relatively well studied in recent years probably because of its role in the transmission of important human diseases such as urban lymphatic filariasis, Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV), and Western equine encephalitis virus [2, 3]. In the West Africa subregion, Culex mosquitoes are not filariasis vectors yet. They are potential vectors as there is minimal evidence that Culex mosquitoes contribute to the transmission of the disease [4]. The process of rapid urbanization and unplanned growth of cities has resulted in the production of mosquito habitats enhancing the breeding of a variety of disease vectors and consequently disease transmission [5]. Using gutters, drainage channels and other sources of organically rich, stagnant water for oviposition and larval development [6, 7], C. pipiens mosquitoes are usually abundant in urban environments. They feed on men, birds, and mammals [8, 9]. Their feeding on birds
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.zoology/2013/640691/