New mosquito control tools are critical
New mosquito control tools are critical
Tags: Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, History, Malaria, MosquitoesL. Braack, Open Access Government, 2021.
Globally, we are making slow headway in the fight against malaria, but there has been progress, nonetheless. Since 2000, 39 countries and territories have managed to rid themselves of malaria; the most recent is China. Existing tools can achieve local elimination, but the battle is becoming harder and mosquitoes and parasites are able to change their defences, which is why we too have to constantly adapt and respond with better tools and strategies. We should also be on high alert; malaria has been distracting our attention from what will be our next global public health threat: mosquito-borne arboviruses such as Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, Yellow Fever, West Nile Virus, Usutu, and a host of others few people have heard of. These arboviruses are spreading across the globe, each year more abundant. The mosquitoes that transmit them pose a different set of challenges, as most of them bite by day, with very different breeding habits. We must increase public awareness of the rising threat and invest much greater research effort to find ways to combat these viruses and mosquitoes.
