Daytime and public space exposure to Anopheles funestus bites in Western Province, Zambia: implications for malaria surveillance and control

Results document significant exposure to An. funestus bites both indoors and outdoors, at home as well as in public spaces such as schools and markets, and late in the morning until 11:00 h in Western Province, Zambia. The flexible blood-feeding behaviours exhibited by this dominant malaria vector highlight important operational gaps in the protection offered by current vector control strategies that are deployed primarily indoors and/or during nighttime hours. Vector surveillance efforts should be extended to better characterize the full scope of transmission risk throughout the community and guide the development of new approaches to target transmission occurring outdoors, during the daytime, and in public spaces away from the home.