Blood Feeding Preference of Female <i>Aedes aegypti</i> Mosquitoes for Human Blood Group Types and Its Impact on Their Fecundity: Implications for Vector Control

Aedes aegypti is the major vector of Dengue in Sri Lanka.Dengue virus is transmitted via blood feeding of vector mosquitoes.Blood is an essential component for the fecundity of mosquitoes and the knowledge on feeding behaviour of Ae. aegypti is important in dengue prevention measures.Therefore, the study was designed to identify the preferential feeding of Ae. aegypti on human ABO blood groups and their impacts on fecundity.Laboratory reared female Ae.aegypti mosquitoes were exposed to all four blood groups at once in separate membrane feeders.After feeding, DNA of blood in mosquitoes was extracted and identified using ABO genotyping PCR.Fecundity was determined by the mean number of eggs in an egg batch.The highest preference was observed for the blood group "O" (P<0.05;0.00).The mean number of egg production of each blood group was not significantly different showing no impact on the blood type for the fecundity.This study reports for the first time that there is no direct impact of the preferred blood group on the fecundity of Ae. aegypti female mosquitoes.Furthermore, preference of blood group selection by female mosquitoes would be highly important in personal protection measures against mosquito bites, as the personal protection is one of the most effective control measures for prevention of Dengue.