mosquitoes - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO & MASBÉ NDENGAR, BIRD STORY AGENCY

This Burkinabe researcher wants his groundbreaking work to wipe out malaria, altogether

ON a busy morning in the Nagrin district of Ouagadougou. Balkissa Wangrawa, a Burkinabe community-based health volunteer, keenly scouts through residential blocks for possible mosquito breeding areas. He identifies a pool of stagnant shower water from an adjacent bathing area that allows water to flow into an open field. As he walks by, he gets a definite whiff of the unpleasant stench from stagnant wastewater and then he hears the buzzing of a swarm of mosquitoes. Wangrawa is one of some 15,000 healthcare workers and volunteers implementing Burkina Faso's latest government-led seasonal malaria prevention campaign (CPS+). The campaign involves the…

Oct

2023

By GABRIELLE TÉTRAULT-FARBER and LEROY LEO

WHO recommends malaria vaccine that will be rolled out next year

HEALTH

THE World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of a second malaria vaccine to curb the life-threatening disease spread to humans by some mosquitoes. "Almost exactly two years ago, WHO recommended the broad use of the world's first malaria vaccine called RTS,S," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a briefing in Geneva. "Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce that WHO is recommending a second vaccine called R21/Matrix-M to prevent malaria in children at risk of the disease." R21/Matrix-M, developed by Britain's University of Oxford, will become available by mid-2024, Tedros said, adding that doses would cost between $2…

Sep

2021

By The African Mirror

Why it’s hard to end elephantiasis, a debilitating disease spread by mosquitoes

HEALTH

ALEXANDER KWARTENG, Lecturer in Immunology of Infectious Diseases, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) JONATHAN ROBERTS, Associate Professor, Mount Saint Vincent University KRISTI HEATHER KENYON, Associate Professor, University of Winnipeg MARY ASIRIFI, Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing Foundations, MacEwan University Lymphatic filariasis is one of the world’s leading causes of permanent and long-term disability. Sometimes referred to as Elephantiasis tropica, it is a neglected and stigmatised mosquito-borne disease. It damages the human lymphatic system, leading to disfiguring swelling of limbs, breasts and genitals. Despite a decade of World Health Organisation (WHO)-led drug administration to halt its spread, the…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

We’re a step closer to figuring out why mosquitoes bite some people and not others

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

MOSQUITOES contribute to the transmission of life-threatening diseases that include Zika, dengue, chikungunya, Rift Valley fever and malaria. Of these, malaria carries the most risk accounting for 229 million cases and more than 400,000 deaths in 2019. Africa accounted for 67% (274 000) of all malaria deaths worldwide. MADELIEN WOODING, Chromatographic Officer and Researcher, University of Pretoria YVETTE NAUDÉ, Manager: Chromatography Mass Spectrometry, University of Pretoria Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Vector control strategies such as indoor residual spraying and long-lasting insecticidal net programmes have played a…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Malaria control needs longer lasting repellents. We’re a step closer to finding one

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION

MALARIA is one of the leading causes of illness and death around the world. The disease is primarily caused by the bite of mosquitoes carrying a parasite. In 2019, around 229 million malaria cases were reported with an estimated number of 409,000 deaths. Most of the reported cases occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. Children younger than five years and pregnant women are most prone to malaria. ANTÓNIO BENJAMIM MAPOSSA, Postdoctoral fellow in Chemical Engineering, University of Pretoria To prevent malaria, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends spraying insecticides indoors and using bed nets treated with long-lasting insecticide. These interventions have one…