GM Mosquitoes to control Malaria

• Context (TH | DTE): Genetically modified mosquitoes were released in Djibouti to fight malaria.

Credit: The Guardian

• The release is part of the ‘Djibouti Friendly Mosquito Programme’ started two years ago to stop the spread of Anopheles stephensi, an invasive species of mosquito.
• Genetic modification of mosquitoes, dubbed a method that “uses mosquitoes to fight mosquitoes”,  involves releasing genetically engineered male mosquitoes into the wild, which then mate with females.
• The introduced gene prevents female offspring from surviving to adulthood, effectively reducing the population of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes.
• Similar technology has been successfully used in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama, and India.

Ninety per cent of the world’s malaria deaths occur in Africa. Male mosquitoes do not bite and, therefore, cannot transmit malaria. Epidemics driven by pathogens, hosts and vectors invading new areas: Examples The Black Death in Europe (14th century) was caused by rats with plague-infected fleas. Asian tiger mosquito and yellow fever mosquito-spread diseases like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika in North America and Europe during the 1970s-1980s.

About Anopheles Mosquitoes

• Aedes mosquitoes transmit viral diseases; Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria.
• Only 30-40 out of 500 species spread malaria.
• Common species that transmit malaria in Africa: Anopheles gambiae, An. arabiensis, and An. funestus.
  • An. gambiae caused a malaria epidemic in Brazil in the 1930s. After a highly coordinated and resource-intensive effort, it was eventually eliminated from Brazil in the 1940s.

Anopheles stephensi

• It is a malaria vector native to South Asia. It had migrated to Africa from South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula.
• Transmits Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax (Parasites).
• Unlike other malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa that primarily breed in rural areas, Anopheles stephensi is well adapted to the urban environment.
• It bites both during the day and at night and is resistant to chemical insecticides.

Recommendations

• Strengthen entomological surveillance & share new information promptly.
• Implement integrated vector control measures.
• Invest in novel vector control methods for outdoor-biting mosquitoes.
• Educate communities on proper water storage and eliminate breeding sites.
• South America’s policies on reducing Aedes breeding areas could be adapted for Africa.
• Combine clinical care, vector control, and community awareness.