The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new initiative to stop the spread in Africa of a malaria-causing mosquito species originally from Asia.
According to the global health regulator, Anopheles stephensi (An. stephensi), native to parts of South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, is an invasive mosquito species identified as being a “significant threat” to malaria control and elimination in Africa.
Experts say the species has increased its range over the past decade and is now present in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria.
According to WHO, the new initiative aims to support an effective regional response to An. stephensi on the African continent through a five-pronged approach that includes increasing collaboration across sectors and borders, and strengthening surveillance to determine the extent of the spread of the species and its role in transmission.
The strategy also involves improving information exchange on the presence of A. stephensi and efforts to control it, developing guidance for national malaria control programmes on appropriate ways to respond to the vector, and prioritising research to evaluate the impact of interventions and tools.
WHO further recommends that, where feasible, national responses to An. stephensi should be integrated with efforts to control malaria and other vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya.
Unlike the other main mosquito vectors of malaria in Africa, experts say An. stephensi thrives in urban settings, raising concerns about the impact it could have on the control and elimination of malaria in the region since more than 40 per cent of the population in Africa lives in urban areas.
