New mosquito identified
British scientists studying mosquitoes in Kenya’s western highlands have discovered a previously unknown malaria carrying species of the insect. This new mosquito tends to bite outdoors in the early evening, when people are more likely to be awake and outside, in contrast with previously discovered species, which bite in the early hours of the morning when people are more likely to be asleep under a mosquito net. As of yet, the scientists are not sure how widespread this new species is, but it is feared that the insects could render the use of nets as a device for malaria control significantly less effective. “We observed that many of the mosquitoes we caught, including those infected with malaria, did not physically resemble other known malaria mosquitoes,” said Dr Jennifer Stevenson, one of the team that discovered the new species, in a letter to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Analysis indicated that their DNA differed from sequences available for known malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Africa.” She expressed concerns about the continued efficacy of nets as deterrents, as well as reports that a number of mosquito species are developing an immunity to the current crop of insecticides used.
British scientists studying mosquitoes in Kenya’s western highlands have discovered a previously unknown malaria carrying species of the insect. This new mosquito tends to bite outdoors in the early evening, when people are more likely to be awake and outside, in contrast with previously discovered species, which bite in the early hours of the morning when people are more likely to be asleep under a mosquito net. As of yet, the scientists are not sure how widespread this new species is, but it is feared that the insects could render the use of nets as a device for malaria control significantly less effective. “We observed that many of the mosquitoes we caught, including those infected with malaria, did not physically resemble other known malaria mosquitoes,” said Dr Jennifer Stevenson, one of the team that discovered the new species, in a letter to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Analysis indicated that their DNA differed from sequences available for known malaria-transmitting mosquitoes in Africa.” She expressed concerns about the continued efficacy of nets as deterrents, as well as reports that a number of mosquito species are developing an immunity to the current crop of insecticides used.
Coincidentally, a study recently carried out by French researchers in two villages in Benin found that mosquitoes had changed their biting habits after villagers began using bed nets. Within two years, the mosquitoes’ period of ‘peak aggression’ had altered from between 2:00 am and 3:00 am to around 5:00 am, negating the use of nets, as the majority of villagers tend to wake up before dawn to tend to their fields. Sub-Saharan Africa already suffers the majority of the estimated 650,000 deaths and 216 million infections that occur annually as a result of malaria, and these new findings offer a stark warning that the death toll could soon be even higher.