Larval Distributions and breeding habitats of Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Kuala Terengganu

Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus play an important role in spreading dengue and chikungunya virus in Malaysia. Currently dengue fever is still the most important threat to this country. The number of dengue cases are on the rise in some states despite the efforts made by the government to keep the surroundings of houses clean and free from Aedes breeding sites. This study was carried out to determine the breeding sites of Aedes in Kuala Terengganu. Samplings were carried out between August 2009 until February 2010 at six study sites from both the urban and rural areas. Samples collected were counted and the distribution classes (class 1 (C1) to class 5 (C5)) were determined. Water tank, glass container and used paint bucket were found to be the most preferable breeding sites in the study areas. Many Ae. aegypti larvae were collected in the urban areas and the highest number of Ae. albopictus larvae were collected from the rural areas. As for the larval distributions, Ae. aegypti recorded a frequent distribution (C4: 60.1-80%) in urban areas while Ae. albopictus recorded infrequent distribution (C2: 20.1-40%). Frequent distributions of Aedes larvae were recorded when relative humidity is high. Apart from environmental factors, human density also could affect the distributions of Aedes larvae in the urban area.