Changing species dynamics and species-specific associations observed betweenAnophelesandPlasmodiumgenera in Diebougou health district, southwest Burkina Faso

The prevalence of malaria parasite species in parts of Africa is rapidly changing and influenced by detection methods. The natural vector competence and vectorial capacity of African anophelines for humanPlasmodiumspecies has only been well described forP. falciparumand is unclear in the context of mixed and non-falciparum infections. Over the course of two clinical trials (2015 and 2019-2020) testing ivermectin for malaria control in the same region of Burkina Faso, we sampled participants’ blood and their households forAnophelesspp. mosquitoes and tested these samples forPlasmodiumspecies.Plasmodiumprevalence in participants and their blood samples was high in both trials. WhileP. falciparummono-infections comprised most infections in the 1^sttrial, mixed and non-falciparum infections comprised 27% of infections in the 2^ndtrial, with notable changes in species present within participants over time. Furthermore,An. gambiaes.l. was the main vector captured, butAn. funestusmosquitoes were unexpectedly prevalent in the 2^ndtrial, and we found that parasite species prevalence differed in abdominal and head+thorax tissues of these two vector species. Most notably,P. falciparumsporozoites were significantly more prevalent than other parasite species inAn. gambiaes.l. whileP. ovalesporozoites were significantly more prevalent than other parasite species inAn. funestus. Our data suggest differential vector competence forPlasmodiumspecies at the study site, which may significantly impact malaria epidemiology, disease prevalence and control efforts.