[Malaria transmission in an area of high coverage with long lasting insecticidal nets in central Côte d’Ivoire]

The purpose of this study was to assess malaria transmission in an area of high coverage with long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) in central Côte d’Ivoire. Two four-day larva collections were carried out in April and July 2008. Adult mosquito samples were collected by conducting human bait catches during a total of 80 man-nights. Vector infection rates were determined using an ELISA circumsporozoite antibody test. A total of 1582 mosquitoes were captured. Mansonia was the dominant genus in the culcidian fauna followed by Anopheles that was dominant in the anopheline fauna. The only Plasmodium vector was An. gambiae s.l. The high household bednet coverage rate probably accounted for the relatively low biting rate: 0.75 to 4.15 bites per person per night (b/p/n). Households not using bednets appear to have benefited from a passive protection effect associated with high LLIN coverage. Biting and entomological inoculation rates were 2.25 to 4.1 b/p/n (range) and 0.184 ib/p/n respectively in households that did not use LLINs and 0.75 to 4.15 b/p/n (range) and 0.341 ib/p/n respectively in households using LLINs.