Breaking news !: scientist warns about a new invasive mosquito in Africa

 Scientists have issued a warning about a new invasive mosquito species in Africa.

https://www.africanews.com/2022/11/02/scientists-warn-of-a-new-invasive-mosquito-species-in-africa/?jwsource=cl

An invading mosquito species was likely to blame for a huge malaria outbreak in Ethiopia earlier this year, according to scientists, a result that experts described as a frightening indicator that progress against the illness is at risk of unraveling.

Anopheles stephensi is a mosquito species that have predominantly been spotted in India and the Persian Gulf. It was discovered in Djibouti in 2012, and it has since been discovered in Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Nigeria. The mosquitoes are suspected of being responsible for a recent increase in malaria in Djibouti, forcing the World Health Organization to try to prevent the insects from spreading further in Africa.

Fitsum Tadesse, a malaria researcher, presented results at the American Society of Tropical Medicine meeting in Seattle on Tuesday, suggesting that In Ethiopia, the invading mosquitoes were also to blame for an outbreak.

Health officials in Dire Dawa, a major transportation hub, reported a dramatic surge in malaria in January. Tadesse, the lead scientist of Addis Abeba's Armauer Hansen Research Institute, got in with his team to investigate. They monitored over 200 malaria cases, analyzed mosquito breeding grounds, and tested invasive mosquitos for the malaria parasite.

They didn't discover many mosquitos, which are known to spread malaria in Africa. Instead, they discovered dense populations of invasive insects. Tadesse and his colleagues came to the conclusion that the invasive mosquitos were "highly linked" to the outbreak.

"This new data is alarming," said Thomas Churcher, an Imperial College London professor of infectious disease dynamics who was not involved in the research.

In Ethiopia, the invading mosquitoes were also to blame for the outbreak.

He claims that most malaria outbreaks in Africa have occurred in rural areas because native mosquitos do not like reproducing in dirty cities or manmade containers such as buckets. Invasive mosquitoes, on the other hand, can thrive in such settings.

"If these mosquitoes acquire a foothold in Africa, it could be catastrophic," he added. Because mosquitos attack people outside, the typical mosquito-control tactics employed in Africa, such as bed nets and indoor spraying, are unlikely to work against the invasive bugs.

Despite this, Churcher claims that experts don't know how common invasive mosquitos are or how much malaria they cause.

According to Ethiopian malaria specialist Aklilu Getnet, officials have detected a significant increase in the sickness this year. He blamed the fighting and prolonged rainy seasons in northern Ethiopia has diverted resources away from malaria.

"We are really concerned," he said, adding that malaria has been declining in Ethiopia until lately. "We are now seeing a considerable increase."

Anne Wilson, an infectious diseases expert at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, suggested that African communities explore adapting mosquito-control tactics employed in India, such as introducing fish that eat the larvae or forbidding containers containing standing water.

Slowing progress against malaria, she says, is challenging efforts to end the parasitic disease, which kills more than 600,000 people each year, largely in Africa.

"We're waiting to see how new instruments like herbicides and vaccines affect us," she said. "However, if this mosquito takes off, we may be out of time."