ArticlePloS one2018
Can water-level management reduce malaria mosquito abundance around large dams in sub-Saharan Africa?
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mosquito aquatic habitat modification and manipulation interventions to control malaria.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Evidence gaps and diversity among potential win-win solutions for conservation and human infectious disease control.The Lancet. Planetary health · 2022Pooled it
- Epidemiological Profile and Risk Factors for Malaria in Rural Communities Before the Operationalization of the Singrobo-Ahouaty Dam, Southern Côte d'Ivoire.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Article
- Heterogeneous impacts for malaria control from larviciding across villages and considerations for monitoring and evaluation.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Integration of IoT in Small-Scale Aquaponics to Enhance Efficiency and Profitability: A Systematic Review.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Review
- Assessment of environmental and spatial factors influencing the establishment of Anopheles gambiae larval habitats in the malaria endemic province of Woleu-Ntem, northern Gabon.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Effect of IvermectinMalaria journal · 2023Article
- Modeling reservoir management for malaria control in Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Environmental and meteorological factors linked to malaria transmission around large dams at three ecological settings in Ethiopia.Malaria journal · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWater level management has been suggested as a potential tool to reduce malaria around large reservoirs. However, no field-based test has been conducted to assess the effect of water level management on mosquito larval abundance in African settings. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the effects of water level drawdown rates on mosquito larval abundance.
methodsTwelve experimental dams were constructed on the foreshore of the Koka Dam in Ethiopia. These were grouped into four daily water drawdown treatments, each with three replicates: no water-level drawdown (Group 1; Control), 10 mm.d-1 (Group 2), 15 mm.d-1 (Group 3) and 20 mm.d-1 (Group 4). Larval sampling was conducted weekly for a period of 6 weeks each in the main malaria transmission season (October to November 2013) and subsequent dry season (February to March 2014). Larval densities were compared among treatments over time using repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
resultsA total of 284 Anopheles mosquito larvae were collected from the experimental dams during the study period. Most (63.4%; n = 180) were collected during the main malaria transmission season while the remaining (36.6%; n = 104) were collected during the dry season. Larvae comprised four Anopheles species, dominated by Anopheles arabiensis (48.1% of total larval samples; n = 136) and An. pharoensis (33.2%; n = 94). Mean larval density was highest in control treatment dams with stable water levels throughout the study, and decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing water drawdown rates in both seasons. During the main transmission season, anopheline larval density was generally lower by 30%, 70% and 84% in Groups 2, Group 3 and Group 4, respectively, compared with the control dams (Group 1). In the dry season, larval density was reduced by 45%, 70% and 84% in Groups 2, Group 3 and Group 4, respectively, when compared to the control dams.
conclusionIncreased water drawdown rates were associated with lower mosquito larval abundance. Water level management could thus serve as a potential control measure for malaria vectors around reservoirs by regulating the persistence of shallow shoreline breeding habitats. Dam operators and water resource managers should consider incorporating water level management as a malaria control mechanism into routine dam operations to manage the risk of malaria transmission to human populations around reservoirs.
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