Infection rates in, and the number of Plasmodium falciparum genotypes carried by Anopheles mosquitoes in Tanzania

Naturally fed mosquitoes were collected from houses in a rural village in northern Tanzania. The number of Plasmodium falciparum oocysts which developed in each was counted, and the number of parasite genotypes carried by a subset was determined by PCR-based techniques. A higher proportion of Anopheles gambiae s.l. mosquitoes developed oocysts than of An. funestus but, on average, both species carried similar numbers of parasite genotypes. Overall, 68% of the sampled mosquitoes carried more than one genotype.