Background Understanding the ecology of larval malaria and lymphatic filariasis mosquitoes in a changing environment is important in developing effective control tools or programmes. This study characterized the breeding habitats of Anopheles mosquitoes in rural communities in different ecological zones in Ghana during the dry and rainy seasons. Methods The spatio-temporal distribution, species composition, and abundance of larval Anopheles mosquitoes in breeding habitats were studied in five locations in three ecological zones of Ghana. These were Anyakpor (coastal savannah area), Duase (forest area), and Libga, Pagaza, and Kpalsogu (Sahel savannah area). Larvae were collected using standard dippers and were raised in the insectary for identification. Results Out of a total of 7984 mosquito larvae collected, 2152 (27.26%) were anophelines and were more abundant in the rainy season (70.82%) than in the dry season (29.18%). The anophelines comprised 2128 (98.88%) An. gambiae s.l., 16 (0.74%) An. rufipes, and 8 (0.37%) An. pharoensis. In the coastal savannah and forest zones, dug-out wells were the most productive habitat during the dry (1.59 larvae/dip and 1.47 larvae/dip) and rainy seasons (11.28 larvae/dip and 2.05 larvae/dip). Swamps and furrows were the most productive habitats in the Sahel savannah zone during the dry (0.25 larvae/dip) and rainy (2.14 larvae/dip) seasons, respectively. Anopheles coluzzii was the most abundant sibling species in all the ecological zones. Anopheles melas and An. arabiensis were encountered only in the coastal savannah and the Sahel savannah areas, respectively. Larval habitat types influenced the presence of larvae as well as larval density (p < 0.001). The land-use type affected the presence of Anopheles larvae (p = 0.001), while vegetation cover influenced larval density (p < 0.05). Conclusion The most productive habitats were dug-out wells in the coastal savannah and forest zones, and furrows from irrigated canals in the Sahel savannah zone. Anopheles coluzzii was the predominant vector species in all the ecological zones. The abundance of Anopheles breeding habitats and larvae were influenced by anthropogenic activities. Encouraging people whose activities create the larval habitats to become involved in larval source management such as habitat manipulation to stop mosquito breeding will be important for malaria and lymphatic filariasis control.

Background Infections of Plasmodium species, Schistosoma species and soil-transmitted helminths (STH) inflict a significant burden on children mostly in deprived communities in Ghana. Despite the deployment of malaria vector control and the annual Mass Drug Administration by National Control Programmes, these infections still pose major public health concerns in Ghana. Some remote communities which are hard-to-reach are not covered by MDA campaigns which is a major challenge to meeting elimination targets. Adequate data is necessary for formulating policies and strengthening interventions to mitigate transmission. This study assessed the infection burden of Plasmodium, Schistosoma species and STH infections among school children in communities in Southern and Northern Ghana. Method School children living in communities in Southern (Ada Foah, Pediatorkope, Tuanikope) and Northern (Kpalsogu) Ghana were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. A total of 493 (241 males and 252 females) school children aged (2–15 years) were enrolled in the study. Stool samples were collected to screen for Schistosoma mansoni and STH infections using the formol-ether concentration technique and urine samples were also collected to screen for S. haematobium using the routine urine examination method. Plasmodium parasitaemia was determined from thick and thin finger-prick blood samples. Results Overall, the prevalence of P. falciparum, S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm infections were 17.2% (95%CI 12.8–19.7), 22.6% (95%CI 25.2–32.7), 1.6% (95%CI 0.89–5.2), 1.2% (95%CI 0.78–4.8) and 1.2% (95%CI 0.78–4.8) respectively. Plasmodium falciparum infection was generally widespread in all the study sites with Ada Foah recording the highest prevalence (35.3%) and Kpalsogu recording the lowest (5.8%). Schistosoma mansoni was present in only two Southern communities with Tuanikope recording the highest prevalence of 70.3% as against 51.5% recorded in Pediatorkope. A total of 4.5% (95% CI 2.82–10.8) of the children were co-infected with P. falciparum, Schistosoma species and STHs. This occurred only in the Southern communities; of which combination of P. falciparum and S. mansoni were predominant (1.4%). Conclusion A relatively low burden of parasites co-infection among children only in the Southern communities was detected. However, there were a high prevalence of single infections of P. falciparum and S. mansoni in those communities. Control measures for the helminths needs to be restarted in the island communities with a high burden of S. mansoni infections and that of Plasmodium needs to be scaled up in Ada Foah where P. falciparum infections were high.

Background In sub-Saharan Africa there is widespread use of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying to help control the densities of malaria vectors and decrease the incidence of malaria. This study was carried out to investigate the resting behavior, host preference and infection with Plasmodium falciparum of malaria vectors in Ghana in the context of the increasing insecticide resistance of malaria vectors in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Indoor and outdoor resting anopheline mosquitoes were sampled during the dry and rainy seasons in five sites in three ecological zones [Sahel savannah (Kpalsogo, Pagaza, Libga); coastal savannah (Anyakpor); and forest (Konongo)]. Polymerase chain reaction-based molecular diagnostics were used to determine speciation, genotypes for knockdown resistance mutations (L1014S and L1014F) and the G119S ace1 mutation, specific host blood meal origins and sporozoite infection in the field-collected mosquitoes. Results Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) predominated (89.95%, n = 1718), followed by Anopheles rufipes (8.48%, n = 162) and Anopheles funestus s.l. (1.57%, n = 30). Sibling species of the Anopheles gambiae s.l. revealed Anopheles coluzzii accounted for 63% (95% confidence interval = 57.10–68.91) and 27% (95% confidence interval = 21.66–32.55) was Anopheles gambiae s. s.. The mean resting density of An. gambiae s.l. was higher outdoors (79.63%; 1368/1718) than indoors (20.37%; 350/1718) (Wilcoxon rank sum test, Z = − 4.815, P < 0.0001). The kdr west L1014F and the ace1 mutation frequencies were higher in indoor resting An. coluzzii and An. gambiae in the Sahel savannah sites than in the forest and coastal savannah sites. Overall, the blood meal analyses revealed that a larger proportion of the malaria vectors preferred feeding on humans (70.2%) than on animals (29.8%) in all of the sites. Sporozoites were only detected in indoor resting An. coluzzii from the Sahel savannah (5.0%) and forest (2.5%) zones. Conclusions This study reports high outdoor resting densities of An. gambiae and An. coluzzii with high kdr west mutation frequencies, and the presence of malaria vectors indoors despite the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying. Continuous monitoring of changes in the resting behavior of mosquitoes and the implementation of complementary malaria control interventions that target outdoor resting Anopheles mosquitoes are necessary in Ghana. Graphical abstract