Impact of climatic factors on indoor mosquito species abundance in Rivers State, Nigeria

Mosquito abundance in sub-Sahara Africa is of great public health importance and has been linked to various infectious diseases. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of climatic factors on mosquito abundance in the study area. Indoor resident mosquitoes were caught using pyrethrum spray catch technique and identified based on morphological characteristics. Results revealed a total of 3321 mosquitoes from 16 species toinclude An. gambiaes.l., An. funestus, An. coustani, Ae. aegypti, Ae. vittatus, Ae. metallicus, Ae. stokesi, Ae. albopictus, Cx. tigripes, Cx. horridus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. andersoni, Cx. pipiens, Cx. univittatus, Cx. striatipes and Cx. Thalassius accounting for 469(14.16%), 210(6.32%), 85(2.56%), 478(14.39%), 183(5.51%), 116(3.49%), 86(2.59%), 390(11.74%), 159(4.79%), 46(1.39%), 391(11.77%), 160(4.82%), 315(9.49%), 112(3.37%), 78(2.35%) and 43(1.29%) respectively. Of the total catch, Port Harcourt recorded abundance of 1725(51.N94%) against Odual with 1596(48.06%). The impact of rainfall on the abundance of indoor resident mosquitoes revealed a positive linear relationship in Odual (y=0.2645x+128.87; R²=0.1959) and Port Harcourt (y=0.5068x+82.2; R²=0.387) likewise humidity in Odual (y=2.5533x-53.044; R²=0.0592) and Port Harcourt (y=5.8259x-342.62; R² = 0.1373).However, a skewed relationship was noted with temperature, hence a positive relationship in Odual (y = 19.595x - 366.89; R² = 0.1463) and a negative in Port Harcourt (y = -27.434x + 874.19; R² = 0.1454). People in the study areas, are at risk of mosquito-borne diseases based on the result analysis. Understanding the impact of climatic factors on mosquito abundance is prerequisite for predicting itsdisease outbreaks, developing effective control measures and improve surveillance.