Assessment of Mosquito Diversity and Evaluation of Impact of House Treatment with DDT on Their Population in Amauro, Okigwe Local Government Area, Imo State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Malaria, a disease that has increasingly been ravaging human population still has no sustainable remedy. Therefore, mosquito diversity and impact of house treatment with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) on their population were investigated by the use of miniature Centre for Disease Control light trap (model 512) and WHO – approved compression sprayer in Amauro, Okigwe Local Government Area, Imo State, Nigeria. A total of 9,114 adult mosquitoes belonging to Anopheles, Aedes and Culex genera were captured and identified in this study prior to the DDT indoor residual spray. Virtually all the living houses (93) in the area were treated with a total of 25kg of DDT active ingredient (concentration of DDT active ingredient: 10%). Mosquito populations reduced significantly (P<0.05) by 89.82% six months after house treatment with DDT. This shows that DDT insecticide is highly effective in controlling mosquito vectors. Mosquito species incriminated by this study suggest serious public health implications in the area.

Key words: Mosquito, diversity, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, indoor residual spray, public health.