Co-occurrence of mosquito larvae in stagnant water in residential areas in Malaysia

Background: The importance of mosquito-borne diseases can be aggravated when there is an occurrence of mixed infestation between the mosquitoes in a habitat. However, there is limited available information on mixed infestation behavior among Malaysian mosquitoes.

Objective: We elucidated the nature of co-occurrence among mosquito species from residential areas in Malaysia.

Methods: Entomological investigation was carried out by using a previously described larval dipping method in 20 residential areas across 11 states and a federal territory (i.e., Kuala Lumpur) in Peninsular Malaysia as well as two states in East Malaysia.

Results: Of 20 study sites, eight study sites exhibited co-occurrence of mosquito larvae, ranging from 1.28% to 50.00%. Culex quinquefasciatus was able to breed simultaneously with Cx. gelidus (10.00%-50.00%), Lutzia fuscanus (2.94%-13.33%), Cx. vishnui (5.00%) and Armigeres subalbatus (1.28%-3.77%). On the other hand, Cx. vishnui was able to breed simultaneously with Cx. gelidus (20.00%) and Lu. fuscanus (3.33%).

Conclusion: The findings of this study have implications for the development of a better understanding of their mixed infestation behavior and prevention of vector-borne disease transmission from these study sites.