RESEARCH Impacts of insecticide trea p W

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleBackground Understanding the relative abundance of sympatric mal-aria vector species is important for vector control, be-cause each species has different vectorial capacity, which reflects on local malaria transmission intensity [1-3]. The most well-known sympatric malaria vectors are Anopheles gambiae s.s. Giles and An. arabiensis Patton, which belong to the An. gambiae complex group (hereafter An. gambiae s.l.). Both species inhabit small sun-lit pools [4,5], and often occur in the same geographical areas [6,7]. However, their adult feeding habits and resting sites differ; An. gambiae s.s. is more anthropophagic and endophilic than An. arabiensis [8-10]. Thus An. gambiae s.s. is considered the most ef-ficient malaria vector in Africa; an area with abundant An. gambiae may have a high transmission risk. However, an area with abundant An. arabiensis does not necessarily have a lower transmission risk, as insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) ar