IOSR Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology (IOSR-JESTFT) e-ISSN: 2319-2402,p- ISSN: 2319-2399.Volume 12, Issue 6 Ver. I (June. 2018), PP 82-88 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/2402-1206018288 www.iosrjournals.org 82 | Page Anopheles Mosquito Larval Production and Association of Water Bodies with Malaria Transmission in Ife and Ilesa Areas of Osun State, Nigeria Florence Oluwaseun Ajani 1 , Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ofoezie 1 , Nathaniel Adeoye, Hilary Igwebuike Eze 3 1. Institute of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria; 2. Department of Geography, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria 3. Centre for Environmental Management and Control, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria. Corresponding Author: Florence Oluwaseun Ajani Abstracts: The environmental factors influencing relative association of water bodies with malaria transmission was investigated in Ife and Ilesa areas of Osun State, Nigeria to advance strategies for malaria control at source. Randomly selected proportional number of water bodies in Ife (32) and Ilesa (23) were investigated for Anopheles mosquito larval density and physicochemical characteristics of water. Water bodies were identified with topographic maps, satellite imagery analysis and ground truthing. Laval density was estimated using the standard dip and search method and physico-chemical properties of water by the standard methods of sampling and analyses. Number of water bodies containing larvae (NWL) was equal in Ife (5) and Ilesa (5) but percentage of water bodies with larvae (PWL) was higher in Ilesa (22%) than Ife (16%). Also, NWL and PWL were each three times higher in the wet (8, 14.5%) than in dry (3, 5.5%) season. Concentrations of conductivity, chloride and calcium were significantly higher (p< 0.05) in Ife than in Ilesa. Temperature was significantly higher in the dry than in the wet season, while, conductivity, acidity and calcium were each higher in wet than in dry season. While these findings suggest that these physicochemical parameters are positively associated with malaria transmission, results of multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA) was not definitive. Larval production was positively and significantly associated with potassium when Ife and Ilesa data were combined and with chloride when only Ilesa data was selected. The study concluded that while these parameters may play vital roles in the larval production in water bodies, additional studies are required to elucidate their relative importance. Key words: Water bodies, mosquito, Anopheles, physicochemical parameters, Ife, Ilesa, Osun State, Nigeria. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 03-06-2018 Date of acceptance: 21-06-2018 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction The World Malaria Report 2012 (WHO, 2013) presents no surprises. Malaria is still endemic in 104 countries and territories worldwide, transmission is on-going in 99 countries and territories and over 3.3 billion people – half of the world's population – are at risk of infection. In 2010, active malaria were estimated to be 219 million (range: 154-289 million) and mortality over 660 000 (range: 490 000-836 000); 90% of all the cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Though it was reported that malaria incidence rates fell by 37% globally and 42% in the African Region between 2000 and 2015 (WHO, 2015) yet malaria is still the most important causes of death and illness particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. The trend in the declination is aftermath of concerted preventive and control efforts to reduce transmission and malaria burden through a programme of roll back malaria initiative (Nabarro and Taylor, 1998; Nabarro, 1999; Balter, 2000; Narasimhar and Attaran, 2003). The initiative increased access to effective drugs and insecticide treated nets (ITN) to reduce morbidity/mortality rates and mosquito bites, respectively. Although these efforts have proved effective, much still needs to be done to hasten reduction of malaria burden below public health importance (WHO, 2012). In this paper, we argue for a reinvigoration of malaria and mosquito control through larval source management as an effective component of roll back malaria. This approach played vital role in the past until the use of DDT was banned worldwide. Recently, the World Health Organization advocated its reintroduction to complement adult vector mosquito control (WHO, 2013). According to the WHO, larval control, which is equivalent to tackling malaria at source, is more cost-effective and more sustainable. In a letter to the editor, Valle et al. (2013) agreed with this approach and contended that sustainable larval control requires knowledge of water bodies’ abundance per area and relative rates of larval production per water body. That is, overall