Current observation on Aedes mosquitoes: A survey on implication of dengue infection, human lifestyle and preventive measure among Malaysia resident in urban and sub-urban areas

Objective: To evaluate the current knowledge level and information on Aedes mosquitoes and\uddengue among Penang resident in urban (Sungai Dua) and sub- urban areas (Batu Maung).\udMethods: The questionnaire comprises of twenty-three questions, surveyed on 202 respondents\udregarding socio-demographic, the observation of general Aedes’ mosquito behaviour, dengue\udinfection threat, preventive measures against mosquitoes and lifestyle (on usage of artificial\udlight) in changing the behaviour of Aedes mosquitoes.\udResults: The respondents in sub-urban Batu Maung showed less knowledge level regarding\udAedes mosquitoes as compared to respondents in urban Sungai Dua. There was a positive\udassociation between biting frequency of mosquitoes with the lifestyle of respondents (in\udrelation to the light use), the use of personal protection and fogging operations conducted by\udthe Ministry of Health. There is a positive relationship between the knowledge of preferred\udmosquitoes resting place and the respondent aged between 17 to 24 (78.2%) in sub-urban\udBatu Maung. Urban Sungai Dua respondents showed a significant relation between the use of\udlights and the resting places for Aedes mosquitoes. The preventive measures chosen by both\udsub-distinct areas against mosquitobites were significantly affected by the biting time and the\udmosquitoes biting frequency (P < 0.05).\udConclusions: In this study, we concluded that there is a direct link between the knowledge\udof the Aedes biting frequency with dengue infection, human lifestyle on the light use and\udpreventive measures against mosquitoes. However, the level of knowledge is poor on the\udsubject of Aedes mosquitoes and dengue for both urban and sub-urban respondents