The larvae of a new species of malaria-carrying mosquito are abundantly present in some cities of the Horn of Africa.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe larvae of a new species of malaria-carrying mosquito are abundantly present in some cities of the Horn of Africa and are highly susceptible to local malaria parasites. These are the larvae of Anopheles stephensi - the main vector of malaria mosquitoes in India - and now their presence in African urban contexts is of great concern.
This is the alarm raised by some researchers from the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands and the Ethiopian Armauer Hansen Research Institute.
The Anopheles stephensi had already appeared on the African continent a few years ago. What is worrying now is that it was found in cities and urban contexts in Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti. That is, most African mosquitoes that can transmit malaria are known to reproduce in rural areas. This is why experts are particularly concerned this particular mosquito has found a foothold in urban areas, thus increasing the risk of spreading infections for urban populations.
“To our surprise, the Asian mosquito turned out to be even more susceptible to local malaria parasites than our Ethiopian mosquito colony. This mosquito appears to be an extremely efficient diffuser of the two main malaria species, ”explains Teun Bousema, professor of epidemiology of tropical infectious diseases at Radboud University Medical Center in Nijmegen.
With this major new discovery, concerns about urban malaria in Africa rise. Already in 2019 the World Health Organization sounded the alarm about the possible consequences of the invasion of Anopheles stephensi.
With around 216 million cases and 400 deaths a year, malaria is one of the most important infectious diseases of our time. Compared to the situation before 2000, there has been a sharp decrease in the number of sick people, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and South America. Unfortunately, malaria now appears to be on the rise in several areas where it was previously under control. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the main types of malaria for humans. They are transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and vice versa. They exist about 60 species of mosquitoes that can transmit human malaria. In Africa, a number of mosquito species are traditionally responsible for the majority of malaria transmission. The Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes have been tagged as the most dangerous animal species on earth and are particularly common in rural areas in Africa. Spraying with insecticides and using mosquito nets against mosquitoes are among the most effective ways to fight malaria.
“An aggressive approach to targeting this mosquito is now a top priority - concludes another scholar, Fitsam Tadesse. Only if we act quickly can we prevent it from spreading to other urban areas on the continent. We must prevent mosquitoes from spreading over long distances, for example through airports and seaports. If that fails, the risk of urban malaria will increase in much of Africa ”.
Fonti: Emerging Infectious Diseases / CNN
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