Mosquito Feeding Preference, Infectivity Rates, and Knockdown Resistance Within the Wild Population of Anopheles arabiensis in Jabi Tehnan District, Northwest Ethiopia

<b>Background:</b> In recent decades, malaria vector species distribution and insecticide resistance have taken new colonization steps across Africa. Understanding the malaria vector insecticide resistance status, blood meal source, and species composition is of paramount importance in designing evidence-based vector control strategies. This study assessed the blood meal sources, sporozoite (infectivity) rate, and knockdown resistance allele's frequency in female <i>Anopheles arabiensis</i> in chosen villages of Jabi Tehnan District, Northwest Ethiopia. <b>Methods:</b> The host-seeking and resting <i>Anopheles gambiae</i> s.l. were collected using human landing catches (HLCs), CDC light traps (CDC-LTs), pyrethrum spray catches (PSCs), and pit shelters (PSs) both indoors and outdoors. The analysis of both blood meal sources and circumsporozoite proteins was performed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The detection of knockdown resistance gene mutations and species identification were conducted using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR). <b>Results:</b> A total of 5098 female <i>Anopheles gambiae</i> s.l. were collected. Of these, 1690 (33.2%) were collected from HLCs, 1423 (27.9%) from CDC light traps, 1635 (32.0%) from PSCs, and only 350 (6.9%) from pit shelters (PSs). Of these, 57.2% (n = 2915) female <i>Anopheles</i> mosquitoes were collected indoors using CDC light traps (CDC-LTs), human landing catches (HLCs), and pyrethrum spray catches (PSCs), while 38.2% (n = 2183) were collected outdoors using human landing collection (HLC), CDC light traps (CDC-LTs), and artificial pit shelters (PSs). Molecular identification to the species level showed that among the 530 <i>An. gambiae</i> s.l. samples analyzed using PCR, 96.03% (509) were <i>An. arabiensis</i>, and 3.97% (21) were unidentified species. The biting peak was found to be from 22:00 to 00:00 h for <i>An. arabiensis</i>. However, their activity decreased sharply after 23:00 to 00:00 h. The distribution of knockdown resistance genes in the tested specimens of <i>An. arabiensis</i> consisted of 1.4% (n = 3) heterozygous resistant (RS), 17.9% (n = 38) homozygous resistant (RR), and 80.7% (n = 171) homozygous susceptible (SS) genotypes. A higher proportion of <i>Anopheles</i> mosquitoes analyzed for blood meal analysis had a human blood meal origin at 13.1% (n = 47), followed by bovine at 8.9% (n = 32) and mixed at 5.8% (n = 21). <b>Conclusions:</b> The dominant malaria vector species was <i>Anopheles arabiensis</i> in the study area with a higher human blood meal origin. The Kdr gene was confirmed in the tested <i>An. arabiensis</i>, indicating that an alternative insecticide class should be used in the study area.