OBJECTIVES:

To identify anopheline mosquito species as malaria vectors and verify their role in human malaria transmission scenery in the municipality of Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre State, Brazilian Amazon.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

From 2012 to 2019, adult anopheline mosquitoes were collected by protected human attraction for 4 h (from 6 pm to 10 pm) and 12 h (from 6 pm to 6 am). The collected specimens were placed in entomological cups, identified with time, date, and place of collection, and collectors names. At the end, they were placed in coolers to be transported to the laboratory, where they were morphologically identified using identification keys. Then, the specimens were prepared for further detection of human plasmodium infection.

RESULTS:

During the study period, with a sampling effort of 468 h, 4,150 specimens of anopheline mosquitoes were collected, 99.64% were identified as Anopheles darlingi. The human bite index ranged from 1.46 in 2019 to 9.33 in 2013, and the infection rate varied from zero in 2017 to 1.44 in 2015. Of the 47 infected specimens, 46 were identified as An. darlingi.

CONCLUSION:

The anopheline mosquito vector of human malaria in Cruzeiro do Sul is An. darlingi, the species considered the main malaria vector in Brazil.