Keywords: Africa
Navigating biosafety regulatory frameworks for genetic engineering in Africa: a focus on genome editing and gene drive technologies
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Genetic engineering, Policy, RegulationTilahun Rabuma, Felix Moronta-Barrios, Wendy Craig, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 12. 2024.
Genome editing and gene drive technologies are increasingly gaining attraction in Africa, with researchers exploring their potential applications in agriculture, health and the environment. Acknowledging that robust regulatory frameworks are crucial in facilitating the ...
Using genomics to find solutions to malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Malaria, Selfish genetic elements, Target malariaMorgan Morris, Nature Africa, 2024.
Joel Odero’s experiences of malaria is wide and deep. Growing up in a village in Kenya, he not only contracted the disease numerous times, but was all too familiar with the relentless daily regimen of spraying insecticides and checking malaria nets were not ripped. Decades ...
Russia’s Latest Target in Africa: U.S.-Funded Anti-Malaria Programs
Tags: Africa, Ethics, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagement, Target malariaElian Peltier, The New York Times, 2024.
The scientists sifting through thousands of genetically modified mosquito larvae in a laboratory in Burkina Faso were trying to stop the spread of malaria, one of the biggest killers on the African continent. But in the pro-Russian propaganda telling of their work, the ...
The potential of gene drives in malaria vector species to control malaria in African environments
Tags: Africa, CRISPR, Gene drive, Gene editing, Malaria, ModelingHancock, P.A., North, A., Leach, A.W. et al., Nature Communications, 15. 2024.
Gene drives are a promising means of malaria control with the potential to cause sustained reductions in transmission. In real environments, however, their impacts will depend on local ecological and epidemiological factors. We develop a data-driven model to investigate the ...
Practical Application of a Relationship-Based Model to Engagement for Gene-Drive Vector Control Programs
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Modeling, Stakeholder engagement, Vector controlAna Kormos, Lodney Nazaré, Adionilde Aguiar dos Santos, and Gregory C. Lanzaro, The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 111:341-360. 2024.
Engagement is an important component in the advancement of gene-drive vector control research programs as developers look to transition the technology from the laboratory to the field. As research advances and engagement surrounding this novel technology is put into practice, ...
Professor Abdoulaye Diabaté’s frank conversation with Bill Gates
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Stakeholder engagement, Target malariaAfrican Media Agency, 2024.
On October 2, 2024, Professor Abdoulaye Diabaté, a prominent figure in malaria research and Head of Medical Entomology at Burkina Faso’s Research Institute in Health Sciences, gained international attention by appearing in the Netflix documentary series "What’s Next? The ...
Operationalizing stakeholder engagement for gene drive research in malaria elimination in Africa – translating guidance into practice
Tags: Africa, Regulation, Stakeholder engagementPare Toe L, Dicko B, Linga R, Barry N, et al., Malar J, 21:225. 2024.
Gene drive mosquitoes are increasingly considered a potential transformational tool for vector control of malaria mosquitoes. As part of efforts to promote responsible research in this field, a number of guidance documents have been published by the World Health Organization, ...
Communicating the uncertainties associated with genetic biocontrol approaches: insights from communicators, science journalists and scientists in Africa
Tags: Africa, Genetic biocontrol, Stakeholder engagementTonui, W. K., Ogoyi, D., Thuo, C., Tareh, C., et al., Journal of Science Communication, 23. 2024.
Genetic biocontrol approaches, such as gene drive technology is rapidly gaining interest from scientists and public health professionals due to their potential to overcome many challenges of current malaria control tools and strategies. This is particularly the case in Africa ...
Scientists explore new solutions to fight insecticide resistance, emerging mosquito species
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Mosquitoes, ResistanceMilliam Murigi, People Daily, 2024.
Africa has long been the epicenter of malaria, battling the deadly disease with a combination of strategies, including insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor spraying. However, the landscape of this fight is rapidly changing. Mosquitoes are increasingly developing resistance to ...
Is Kenya ready to turn to technology to finally defeat malaria?
Tags: Africa, Biodiversity/Conservation, Ecology, MalariaBrygettes Ngana, Nation, 2024.
For decades, researchers have tested and refined dozens of methods to combat malaria, striving to outmaneuver the resilient mosquito. From deploying bed nets to developing indoor residual spraying, these strategies have formed the frontline defense against this persistent ...
A model-informed target product profile for population modification gene drives for malaria control
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Malaria, Population modification/replacementAgastya Mondal, Héctor M. Sánchez C., John M. Marshall, medRxiv, 2024.
As reductions in malaria transmission in sub-Saharan Africa stagnate, gene drive-modified mosquitoes represent one of the most promising novel tools for continued disease control. In order to advance from the laboratory to the field, gene drives will be assessed against target ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene editing, Mosquitoes, OxitecThe Naked Scientists, 2024.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes are taking to the air in an experiment to attempt to curtail malaria in Djibouti. The tiny African nation all but eliminated malaria just over a decade ago. But rising population and urbanisation has seen disease cases skyrocketing again, making ...
Where gene drive fits into WHO’s new Global Malaria Programme operational strategy
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, MalariaMouhamed Drabo, Target Malaria, 2024.
On the 23rd of April 2024, WHO published an updated operational strategy for its Global Malaria Programme for the years 2024-2030. The Global Malaria Programme was initially guided by a strategy intended to cover the years 2016-2030, which served as a framework and guide for ...
How expensive it is to be poor Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté inspires global action against malaria at TED2024
Tags: Africa, Stakeholder engagement, Target malariaRealnews Magazine, 2024.
In a stirring address at TED2024, Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté, Head of Medical Entomology and Parasitology at the Research Institute in Health Sciences in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, and Principal Investigator of Target Malaria Burkina Faso, shared his journey with malaria and his ...
How could genetic approaches be integrated in the malaria toolkit?
Tags: Africa, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Vector controlDamaris Matoke-Muhia, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024.
The Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research organized a symposium on the margins of the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM Society)’s 8th Pan-African Malaria Conference held last week in Kigali, Rwanda. The event explored how novel genetic approaches could be integrated ...
African health ministers commit to concerted action to end malaria deaths
Tags: Africa, Malaria, MosquitoesFelista Tarimo, Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, 2024.
On March 6, health ministers from African countries with the highest burden of malaria met in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and signed a declaration committing to the fundamental principle “that no one should die from malaria.” The Declaration for Accelerated Malaria Mortality ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes could one day end malaria
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Malaria, MosquitoesAlexis Akwagyiram, Semafor, 2024.
Abdoulaye Diabaté, a scientist from Burkina Faso, is at the vanguard of efforts to eliminate malaria by editing the genetic makeup of male mosquitoes and releasing them in the wild to prevent the reproduction of female mosquito species that transmit malaria. The technique is ...
Group trains Nigerian journalists on “gene drives” controversies
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, MalariaTosin Omoniyi, Premium Times, 2024.
The Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) held a training for Nigerian journalists on the controversies surrounding the ‘gene drives’ research organisations that allegedly target Africans as “guinea pigs.” The training, the organisers said, was aimed at equipping ...
Africa’s Champion Against Malaria, Professor Abdoulaye Diabaté on stage at TED2024
Tags: Africa, MalariaNelly Gachanja, African Media Agency, 2024.
TED2024, a hallmark event celebrating 40 years of innovation, ingenuity, creativity, courage, and generosity, taking place in Vancouver, Canada from 15-19 April, will feature Africa’s esteemed, and leading champion against malaria, Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté as a speaker. In his ...
Talking About Gene Drive in Uganda: The Need for Science Communication to Underpin Engagement
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Mosquitoes, Stakeholder engagementHartley, S., Stelmach, A., Opesen, C., Openjuru, G. L., and Neema, S., Science Communication, 2024.
Uganda may host the world’s first field trials of gene drive mosquitoes for malaria control. Global North discourses pre-suppose African publics have access to information about gene drive and are ready to make decisions about its governance. We explore assumptions about the ...
African researchers committed to ending malaria
Tags: Africa, Malaria, Stakeholder engagementAfrican Media Agency, 2024.
The need to encourage more young African girls to pursue careers in science cannot be overemphasized.
Wolbachia strain wAlbB shows favourable characteristics for dengue control use in Aedes aegypti from Burkina Faso
Tags: Aedes, Africa, WolbachiaMaria Vittoria Mancini, Shivan M. Murdochy, Etienne Bilgo, Thomas H. Ant, Daniel Gingell, Edounou Jacques Gnambani, Anna-Bella Failloux, Abdoulaye Diabate, Steven P. Sinkins, Environmental Microbiology, 26. 2024.
Dengue represents an increasing public health burden worldwide.
On EAC’s GMO disharmony and little-known GM mosquito research
Tags: Africa, Gene editing, MosquitoesGitura Mwaura, The New Times, 2024.
A meeting in Dar es Salaam in November 2022 sought to chart the legal way forward for the Target Malaria and Transmission Zero Project, as the research initiative is called.
SPOTLIGHT: Gene Drives for Malaria Elimination in Africa
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Malaria, VideoIfakara Health Institute, YouTube, 2024.
This SPOTLIGHT Series features Dr. Marceline Finda, a distinguished Research Scientist at Ifakara Health Institute. The insightful 20-minute discussion centered around the topic: "Gene Drives for Malaria Elimination in Africa."
Opinion: A cautionary tale of experimenting with genetically modified mosquitoes in Uganda
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Genetically modified organisms, MosquitoesBarbara Ntambirweki, The Independent, 2024.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute is pressing forward with gene drive technology which provides a way to rapidly, permanently, and genetically modify wild animals or plants. Gene drive organisms, are a genetically modified organism (GMO) designed to spread a genetic ...
Scientists create first transgenic mosquito strain in Africa
Tags: Africa, Malaria, MosquitoesCGTN Africa, 2024.
Scientists in Tanzania have created the first transgenic mosquito strain in Africa. This genetically modified strain aims to prevent malaria transmission.
Perspectives of African stakeholders on gene drives for malaria control and elimination: a multi-country survey
Tags: AfricaFinda, M.F., Juma, E.O., Kahamba, N.F. et al., Malaria Journal, 22:8384. 2023.
Gene drive modified mosquitoes (GDMMs) have the potential to address Africa’s persistent malaria problem, but are still in early stages of development and testing. Continuous engagement of African stakeholders is crucial for successful evaluation and implementation of these ...
Communicating Creatively About Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, MalariaLorraine Gibson, Target Malaria, 2023.
In 2018, the Target Malaria team at Imperial College London published a landmark paper in Nature Biotechnology. The study demonstrated how gene drive mosquitoes successfully suppressed a population of wild-type malaria mosquitoes, marking a significant milestone for gene ...
African scientist could wipe out malaria by editing mosquito DNA
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Gene editing, MalariaNimi Princewill, CNN, 2023.
Malaria is a leading cause of death in Burkina Faso, where nearly all of the West African nation’s 22 million inhabitants, especially children, are at risk of the disease, according to the World Health Organization. Malaria killed nearly 19,000 people in Burkina Faso in 2021, ...
To End Malaria In Africa, a Scientist From Africa Invented Gene Drive Technology.
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, MalariaSalman Ahmad, CTN News, 2023.
Abdoulaye Diabate, a scientist from Africa, is currently working on a groundbreaking technology called ‘gene drive’ that has the potential to eradicate malaria or the mosquitoes that cause it from the continent. Diabate, who received the prestigious 2023 Falling Walls Prize ...
Anopheles gambiae on remote islands in the Indian Ocean: origins and prospects for malaria elimination by genetic modification of extant populations
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene editing, Malaria, Population genetics/dynamicsDitter, R.E., Campos, M., Crepeau, M.W. et al., Scientific Reports, 13. 2023.
The mosquito Anopheles gambiae s.s. is a primary malaria vector throughout sub-Saharan Africa including the islands of the Comoros archipelago (Anjouan, Grande Comore, Mayotte and Mohéli). These islands are located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in eastern Africa. ...
Ghana publishes its guidelines on Genome Editing
Tags: Africa, Gene editing, Risk and safetyAnonymous, BusinessGhana, 2023.
Ghana's National Biosafety Authority (NBA) has published its guidelines on Genome Editing and Gene Stacks with regards Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) joining Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi, as the fourth country in Africa with the guidelines. Genome editing is an emerging and ...
Mosquito modification programme aiming to eliminate malaria receives US$15m
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, MalariaHayley Dunning, Imperial College London, 2023.
Half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria, a disease caused by parasites that are transmitted from one person to another through bites from Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2021 alone, there were over 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths from malaria, mostly ...
What are gene drives?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Target malariaAnonymous, MalariaGEN, 2023.
Among the new generation of technological tools being developed to combat malaria, there is a lot of buzz around gene drives. This is a method for genetically modifying malaria-spreading mosquitoes and ultimately reducing or replacing their populations. But how exactly do gene ...
The fight against malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Genetic biocontrol, MalariaAnonymous, The Week, 2023.
Some scientists are betting on genetically modified mosquitoes. On the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, 200 miles off Africa’s west coast, University of California researchers are aiming to replace local mosquitoes with lab-tweaked insects that can’t transmit the ...
Bill Gates Talks Gene Drives, mRNA, and U.S.$40m in Science Funding
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaN. Mlambo, allAfrica, 2023.
In 2003, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Grand Challenges initiative in order to find scientific solutions to these health challenges. Initially, the initiative focused on 14 scientific challenges including focusing on creating effective single-dose vaccines ...
How Genetically Modified Mosquitos can end malaria in Africa – Dr. Santos
Tags: Africa, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaS. Akioye, The Star, 2023.
With over 200 million cases every year and nearly 700,000 deaths, Malaria is currently one of Africa’s most dreaded sicknesses. While there have been efforts at finding different drugs for treatment, scientists are working on an innovative solution using genetically modified ...
This Burkinabe researcher wants his groundbreaking work to wipe out malaria, altogether
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaB. Orucho and M. Ndengar, The African Mirror, 2023.
ABDOULAYE Diabaté and his team are betting on gene technology to protect children like his own from malaria. Along with a clutch of brand-new vaccines, the technology could help the world end malaria for good.
Genetically modified mosquitoes will be ready by 2033 – scientists
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaD. Sekayinga, MONITOR, 2023.
The Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVR[) has announced that genetically modified mosquitoes will be ready within a decade. Gene-drive mosquitoes are among the anti-malarial strategies the government under the Africa Target Malaria project has embarked on since 2016, to reduce ...
Situating the social sciences in responsible innovation in the global south: the case of gene drive mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, GovernanceK. Ledingham, C. Opesen, S. Hartley and S. Neema, Journal of Responsible Innovation, 10:2264100. 2023.
There has been growing attention in recent years on the potential reconfiguration of responsible innovation (RI) to increase its relevance for global challenges in the Global South. This reconfiguration will require a broad and empowered role for social scientists. Yet RI has ...
Bukedi sub-region to receive new high-level malaria prevention technology
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Watchdog Uganda, WATCHDOG, 2023.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni together with a group of scientists have agreed to start with Bukedi Sub-region as a pilot area for a new mosquito radiation sterilisation technology aimed at preventing malaria. “Let us start with the Bukedi Sub- region to pilot this method ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes … could CRISPR gene editing end malaria?
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppression, Target malariaD. Wells, SelectScience, 2022.
Despite being a preventable and treatable disease, malaria is currently affecting the lives of more than 200 million people.1 This results in over half a million deaths per year, with 80% of this mortality occurring in children under the age of 5.2 In addition to the tragic ...
Scientist Recommends Gene Drive Strategies Of Pest Control To Increase Food Security
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive, Gene drive syntheticL. Agbo, allnews, 2022.
A Nigerian scientist, Dr. Rose Gidado has recommended that Nigerian policymakers and farmers adopt the technology of a gene drive-based pest management technique in order to increase bumper harvest and food security.In an interview with NAN on Monday in Abuja, Gidado, the Deputy ...
Should we use a genetic weapon against mosquitoes carrying malaria?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Target malariaT. H. Saey, ScienceNewsExplores, 2022.
In a large laboratory cage, a male mosquito carries a genetic weapon that could launch the destruction of his species. That loss could also mean the end of the parasite that causes malaria. The weapon? A self-replicating bit of DNA known as a gene drive. It’s one of the most ...
GMOs in Africa: Status, adoption and public acceptance
Tags: Africa, Genetic engineering, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyL. A. Gbadegesin, E. A. Ayeni, C. K. Tettey, V. A. Uyanga, O. O. Aluko, J. K. Ahiakpa, C. O. Okoye, J. I. Mbadianya, M. A. Adekoya, R. O. Aminu, F. P. Oyawole and P. Odufuwa, Food Control, 141:109193. 2022.
Globally, genetically modified (GM) crops contribute to food security by increasing crop yield, quality and shelf-life. The commercialisation and adoption of GM crops in many developed countries raised hope of improving food security and livelihood. Africa, a developing continent ...
Target Malaria’s scientists are working to rid Africa of an ancient plague
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaD. Matthews, Vox, 2022.
This could very well be the last century in human history when people die from malaria. If and when we do eradicate the disease, the team at Target Malaria will probably deserve a big share of the credit. Their plan to use gene drive technology to wipe out species of mosquitoes ...
Malaria Gene Drives: A Battle Of Wit Between The Government And Stakeholders
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaO. Onwumere, The Nigerian Voice, 2022.
Through the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), guidelines for gene editing, primarily in agriculture, were approved by the Nigerian Federal Government in December 2020. As the first country in Africa, the government was praised for taking the momentous step of ...
Malaria-free mosquito engineered by scientists
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population modification/replacementGNA, MODERN GHANA, 2022.
Scientists have genetically modified the main malaria-carrying species of mosquito in sub-SaharanAfrica to slow the growth of malaria-causing parasites in their gut, preventing transmission of thedisease to humans. When the Anopheles gambiae takes a blood meal, it produces two ...
What do we mean by “Target Organism” in Target Malaria’s gene drive research?
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Population suppression, Regulation, Risk and safety, Target malariaJ. B. Connolly, Target Malaria, 2022.
In the wild and in laboratory settings, sibling mosquito species can successfully mate to produce viable offspring, regardless of whether they are vectors or not. Importantly, females, but not males, of these offspring can be fertile. Nonetheless, the likelihood of finding such ...
Population replacement gene drive characteristics for malaria elimination in a range of seasonal transmission settings: a modelling study
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Modeling, Population modification/replacementS. Leung, N. Windbichler, E. A. Wenger, C. A. Bever and P. Selvaraj, Malaria Journal, 21:226. 2022.
BACKGROUND: Gene drives are a genetic engineering method where a suite of genes is inherited at higher than Mendelian rates and has been proposed as a promising new vector control strategy to reinvigorate the fight against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: Using an ...
Gene drives and Africa’s battle against malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Population suppression, Target malariaAnnonymous, Africa Verified, 2022.
As malaria cases rise, and the effectiveness of current methods begins to fall, the WHO’s target of reducing the global malaria burden by 90% by 2030 will not be met. It is critical for new and resilient treatment, prevention, and control methods to be developed and integrated ...
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Fight Malaria in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Uganda: What Legal Response?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Genetically modified organisms, Governance, Policy, RegulationO. J. L. Tung, Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 25:1-42. 2022.
Advanced applied research on genetically modified (hereafter GM) insects is being undertaken to control insect vectors of human diseases such as mosquitoes. GM insect technologies are being developed in countries where there is a legal ...
Spatial modelling for population replacement of mosquito vectors at continental scale
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population modification/replacementN. J. Beeton, A. Wilkins, A. Ickowicz, K. R. Hayes and G. R. Hosack, PLOS Computational Biology, 18:e1009526. 2022.
Malaria is one of the deadliest vector-borne diseases in the world. Researchers are developing new genetic and conventional vector control strategies to attempt to limit its burden. Novel control strategies require detailed safety assessment to ensure responsible and successful ...
Fighting Malaria With Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaK. Ferris, Liberty Nation News, 2022.
Nearly half of the world's population inhabits an area at risk for malaria – but scientists hope to change that. Through the engineering of gene drives, malaria-transmitting mosquitoes could be irradiated completely. That might sound like a great idea, but scientists and ...
Gene Drives: The advanced science fiction technology used to fight malaria mosquitoes explained
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaAnonymous, NewsBeezer, 2022.
Scientists are using the most advanced form of genetic engineering to eradicate a population of malaria-carrying mosquitoes by rendering the females infertile. Scientists introduced a lab-tweaked gene (a gene created using Gene Drive) into an organism that automatically ...
The sci-fi technology tackling malarial mosquitos
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Target malariaAnonymous, The Star, 2022.
Environmental campaigner Liz O'Neill doesn't mince her words about gene drives - the next generation of genetic modification (GM) technology. "It is extremely worrying," says the director of UK anti-GM pressure group, GM Freeze. "To release something that has been specifically ...
Importation of the non gene drive genetically modified male bias mosquito strain into Burkina Faso
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Regulation, Target malariaA. Diabate, Target Malaria, 2022.
On March 16 and 21, the team at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS), Target Malaria’s partner institution in Burkina Faso, received packages containing live genetically modified mosquito eggs from Italy. The National Biosafety Agency (ANB) officers were at ...
Lessons learned from the introduction of genetically engineered crops: relevance to gene drive deployment in Africa
Tags: Africa, Gene drive syntheticH. Quemada, Transgenic Res, 2022.
The application of gene drives to achieve public health goals, such as the suppression of Anopheles gambiae populations, or altering their ability to sustain Plasmodium spp. infections, has received much attention from researchers. If successful, this genetic tool can contribute ...
The Financialisation of Malaria in Africa: Burkina Faso, rogue capital & GM/gene drive mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Policy, Target malariaS. Mentz-Lagrange and S. Swanepoel, African Centre for Biodiversity, 2022.
This paper seeks to understand the financialisation of malaria as a vehicle for rogue capital in a context of a weakened state (through capture, corruption and coups) and the power that limits effective interventions. It shows how malaria, along with other diseases, is ...
Genetically altered mosquitoes to close gaps in malaria fight
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaM. Murigi, People Daily, 2022.
In 2020, nearly 6.9 million cases of malaria and about 742 deaths were confirmed in Kenya according to the Kenya Malaria Indicator Survey (KMIS) 2020. Although the number of reported infections declined from 10.9 million in 2018, the disease is still one of the main health ...
UC Davis — Malaria Gene Drive Feasibility Analysis
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Population modification/replacement, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementGood Ventures, Good Ventures, 2022.
Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $10,248,967 over three years to UC Davis to support subsequent stages of a feasibility analysis of a potential test of gene drives for malaria control on the adjoining West African islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The work, led by Dr. ...
Squashing malaria could save as many lives as covid-19 has taken
Tags: Africa, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaAnonymous, The Economist, 2022.
When it comes to covid-19 vaccines, poor countries in Africa have been stuck at the back of the queue. However, the continent’s long wait for another immunological miracle appears to be drawing to a close. Later this year, the world’s first malaria vaccine is scheduled for a ...
Spatial modelling for population replacement of mosquito vectors at continental scale
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population modification/replacementN. J. Beeton, A. Wilkins, A. Ickowicz, K. R. Hayes and G. R. Hosack, bioRxiv, 2021.10.06.463299. 2022.
Malaria is one of the deadliest vector-borne diseases in the world. Researchers are developing new genetic and conventional vector control strategies to attempt to limit its burden. Novel control strategies require detailed safety assessment to ensure responsible and successful ...
Mark-release-recapture experiment in Burkina Faso demonstrates reduced fitness and dispersal of genetically-modified sterile malaria mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Mosquito husbandry, Target malariaF. A. Yao, A.-A. Millogo, P. S. Epopa, A. North, F. Noulin, K. Dao, M. Drabo, C. Guissou, S. Kekele, M. Namountougou, R. K. Ouedraogo, L. Pare, N. Barry, R. Sanou, H. Wandaogo, R. K. Dabire, A. McKemey, F. Tripet and A. Diabaté, Nature Communications, 13:796. 2022.
Every year, malaria kills approximately 405,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa, most of them children under the age of five years. In many countries, progress in malaria control has been threatened by the rapid spread of resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides. Novel ...
Gene-drive mosquitoes, a prospect for future malaria control
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Replicator/site directed nucleaseS. A. Monawwer, A. O. I. Alzubaidi, F. Yasmin, S. M. Q. Haimour, S. M. I. Shay and I. Ullah, Pan African Medical Journal, 41:2-6. 2022.
Despite major developments in malaria control over the past two decades, the disease continues to scourge the human population across the globe. Rising concerns such as insecticide resistance amongst vector mosquitoes are a cause of huge fear amongst healthcare providers and ...
Preparing an Insectary in Burkina Faso to Support Research in Genetic Technologies for Malaria Control
Tags: Africa, Containment, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaC. Guissou, M. M. Quinlan, R. Sanou, R. K. Ouédraogo, M. Namountougou and A. Diabaté, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 2022.
The Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS) of Burkina Faso, West Africa, was the first African institution to import transgenic mosquitoes for research purposes. A shift from the culture of mosquito research to regulated biotechnology research and considerable ...
Information Sharing in Senegal on the Gene Drive Technology as a potential Complementary Tool for Malaria Vector Control
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Mosquitoes, Policy, Regulation, Risk assessment, Stakeholder engagementAUDA-NEPAD, AUDA-NEPAD, 2022.
AUDA-NEPAD in partnership with the National Biosafety Authority (Autorité Nationale de Biosécurité (ANB) in Senegal organized an Information sharing meeting on the gene drive technology as a complementary tool for malaria vector control, from 22-23 December 2021, in Somone, ...
Gene Drives For Malaria Control And Elimination
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Target malariaAnnonymous, Health Tech, 2021.
There is notable ongoing research and prioritization of gene drive technology in Africa for Malaria control and elimination. Currently, there is ongoing gene drive mosquito research in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Uganda led by the Target Malaria consortium. While laboratory ...
Scientists eye gene drive technology to combat malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaS. Buguzi, Sci Dev Net, 2021.
Scientists are hoping that adoption of gene drive technology could reduce mosquito populations as they call for new innovations in the fight against malaria, a fatal disease widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the Africa region accounted ...
Area-wide management of mediterranean fruit fly with the sterile insect technique in South Africa: New production and management techniques pay dividends
Tags: Africa, Fruit fly, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Venter, J. H., Baard, C. W. L., and Barnes, B. N., AREA-WIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: Development and Field Application, 2021.
A mass-rearing facility to produce sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), for a Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) programme in the Hex River Valley in the Western Cape Province started in the late 1990s. The programme was initially underfunded and ...
The suppression of the False Codling Moth in South Africa using an AW-IPM approach with a SIT component
Tags: Africa, Genetic biocontrol, Sterile insect technique (SIT)N. Boersma, AREA-WIDE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: Development and Field Application, 2021.
The false codling moth, Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is native to subSaharan Africa, where it infests various commercial, and wild, fruit-bearing plants. This major pest is not present in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, and therefore has ...
Small-scale release of non-gene drive mosquitoes in Burkina Faso: from engagement implementation to assessment, a learning journey
Tags: Africa, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Policy, Stakeholder engagement, Target malariaL. Pare Toe, N. Barry, A. D. Ky, S. Kekele, W. Meda, K. Bayala, M. Drabo, D. Thizy and A. Diabate, Malaria Journal, 20:395. 2021.
This study provides a review of engagement activities relevant to field trials on non-gene drive genetically-modified mosquitoes as well as an assessment framework-using both qualitative and quantitative studies as well as an audit procedure. The latter was implemented to ...
Spatial modelling for population replacement of mosquito vectors at continental scale
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population modification/replacementN. J. Beeton, A. Wilkins, A. Ickowicz, K. R. Hayes and G. R. Hosack, bioRxiv, 2021.10.06.463299. 2021.
We explore transmission of the gene drive between the subspecies, different hybridisation mechanisms, the effects of both local dispersal and potential wind-aided migration to the spread, and the development of resistance to the gene drive. We find that given best current ...
Stakeholders call for adoption of emerging technologies to fight Malaria
Tags: Africa, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaC. Muchira, KBC, 2021.
Health stakeholders are calling for adoption of innovative and emerging technologies such as gene drive to change the focus of the war on malaria from just controlling its spread to actual elimination. The African Institute for Development Policy and other stakeholders have urged ...
Life Table of Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) (Diptera: Tephritidae) for Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) in Mauritius
Tags: Africa, Sterile insect technique (SIT)R. D. Bhoyroo, S. Facknath and P. Sookar, African Entomology, 29:361-369. 2021.
Fruit flies (Tephritidae) have been reported to be a serious pest worldwide. In Mauritius, the major fruit fly species of economic and quarantine importance in agricultural production are Bactrocera zonata (Saunders), Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) and Bactrocera dorsalis ...
Genetically changed mosquitoes could transform Africa’s long fight against malaria
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, MalariaL. Singh, ForumIAS, 2021.
In nature, there’s a phenomenon called gene drive which operates in the process of reproduction. This is when a genetic element is able to increase the chance that it will be inherited by offspring. The general underlying principle of all gene drives is an organism that will ...
Africa must not rest until Malaria rests: What is the role of emerging technologies?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, MosquitoesR. Oronje, AFIDEP, 2021.
As we mark the World Mosquito Day today, it is a sad reminder that Malaria still kills hundreds of thousands of people every year, majority of these people in Africa. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Malaria killed 409,000 people in 2019, and 94% of these deaths ...
Scientists eradicate malaria-transmitting mosquitos using genetic engineering which make females infertile in new study which takes one step closer to wiping out the disease worldwide.
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppression, Target malariaC. Ciaccia, Daily Mail, 2021.
Malaria kills nearly 500,000 people globally every year, but scientists have now figured out a way to use CRISPR gene-editing technology to make female mosquitoes infertile, described as a 'game-changer' for ending the deadly disease. Researchers from Imperial College London, ...
GM mosquitoes to fight malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Malaria, Target malariaI. Khisa, The INDEPENDENT, 2021.
Scientists at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) plans to undertake a research on genetically engineered mosquitoes to tackle malaria. Dr. Jonathan Kayondo, the principal investigator Target Malaria Uganda and Senior Research Officer at UVRI had an email interview with ...
‘Nigeria has capacity for safe application of modern biotechnology’
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyM. Adewale, The Guardian, 2021.
Director-general of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, has declared that Nigeria has the capacity to deploy safe biotechnology products for agricultural development and environmental safety. Ebegba, who gave the assurance at the opening of a ...
The origin of island populations of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles coluzzii
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Genetics, Population modification/replacementM. Campos, M. Hanemaaijer, H. Gripkey, T. C. Collier, Y. S. Lee, A. J. Cornel, J. Pinto, D. Ayala, H. Rompao and G. C. Lanzaro, Communications Biology, 4:9. 2021.
Anopheles coluzzii is a major malaria vector throughout its distribution in west-central Africa. Here we present a whole-genome study of 142 specimens from nine countries in continental Africa and three islands in the Gulf of Guinea. This sample set covers a large part of this ...
Burkina Faso Testing Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to Curb Malaria
Tags: Africa, Field trials, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, MalariaH. Wilkins, Voice of America, 2021.
The mosquito-borne disease malaria kills more than 400,000 people each year, the vast majority in Africa. Target Malaria, an international group of scientists, is working in Burkina Faso on a genetic solution. Abdoulaye Diabate, with the West African country’s Research ...
Selection of Sites for Field Trials of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes with Gene Drive
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Field trials, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, Malaria, Policy, Population modification/replacement, RegulationG. C. Lanzaro, M. Campos, M. Crepeau, A. Cornel, A. Estrada, H. Gripkey, Z. Haddad, A. Kormos, S. Palomares and W. Sharpee, bioRxiv, 2021.04.28.441877. 2021.
Novel malaria control strategies using genetically engineered mosquitoes (GEMs) are on the horizon. Population modification is one approach wherein mosquitoes are engineered with genes rendering them refractory to the malaria parasite coupled with a low-threshold, Cas9-based gene ...
“Maskandi experience”: exploring the use of a cultural song for community engagement in preparation for a pilot Sterile Insect Technique release programme for malaria vector control in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa 2019
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Malaria, Sterile insect technique (SIT)P. N. Manana, S. Jewett, J. Zikhali, D. Dlamini, N. Mabaso, Z. Mlambo, R. Ngobese and G. Munhenga, Malaria Journal, 20:11. 2021.
Background An assessment of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) as a complementary malaria vector control tool, is at an advanced stage in South Africa. The technique involves the release of laboratory-reared sterilized male mosquitoes of the major malaria vector Anopheles ...
Estimates of the population size and dispersal range of Anopheles arabiensis in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: implications for a planned pilot programme to release sterile male mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. L. Kaiser, O. R. Wood, D. Damiens, B. D. Brooke, L. L. Koekemoer and G. Munhenga, Parasites and Vectors, 14:18. 2021.
The Anopheles gambiae complex and An. funestus group species made up the majority of wild collections along with other anophelines. The An. arabiensis population size was estimated to be between 550 and 9500 males per hectare depending on time of year, weather conditions and ...
Commercial Release of Genetically Modified Crops in Africa: Interface Between Biosafety Regulatory Systems and Varietal Release Systems
Tags: Africa, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyO. Akinbo, S. Obukosia, J. Ouedraogo, W. Sinebo, M. Savadogo, S. Timpo, R. Mbabazi, K. Maredia, D. Makinde and A. Ambali, Frontier in Plant Sciences, 12. 2021.
African countries face key challenges in the deployment of GM crops due to incongruities in the processes for effective and efficient commercial release while simultaneously ensuring food and environmental safety. Against the backdrop of the preceding scenario, and for the ...
Ugandan stakeholder hopes and concerns about gene drive mosquitoes for malaria control: new directions for gene drive risk governance
Tags: Africa, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Stakeholder engagementS. Hartley, R. D. J. Smith, A. Kokotovich, C. Opesen, T. Habtewold, K. Ledingham, B. Raymond and C. B. Rwabukwali, Malaria Journal, 20:149. 2021.
The African Union’s High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies identified gene drive mosquitoes as a priority technology for malaria elimination. The first field trials are expected in 5–10 years in Uganda, Mali or Burkina Faso. In preparation, regional and international ...
Hybrid mosquitoes? Evidence from rural Tanzania on how local communities conceptualize and respond to modified mosquitoes as a tool for malaria control
Tags: Africa, Ethics, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Stakeholder engagementM. F. Finda, F. O. Okumu, E. Minja, R. Njalambaha, W. Mponzi, B. B. Tarimo, P. Chaki, J. Lezaun, A. H. Kelly and N. Christofides, Malaria Journal, 20:134. 2021.
Different forms of mosquito modifications are being considered as potential high-impact and low-cost tools for future malaria control in Africa. Although still under evaluation, the eventual success of these technologies will require high-level public acceptance. Understanding ...
In Uganda, genetically modified mosquitoes bring hope and fear
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Population suppression, Target malariaAnonymous, africanews, 2021.
Scientists here are investigating whether populations of the malaria-carrying insects can be reduced by genetic modification. They're looking at the viability of releasing large numbers of genetically modified mosquitos into the wild to influence future generations. The study ...
Modeling impact and cost-effectiveness of gene drives for malaria elimination in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nuclease, X chromosomeN. Metchanun, C. Borgemeister, G. Amzati, J. von Braun, M. Nikolov, P. Selvaraj and J. Gerardin, medRxiv, 2020.06.29.20142760. 2021.
Using a spatially explicit, agent-based model of malaria transmission in eight representative provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we predict the impact and cost-effectiveness of integrating driving-Y gene drive mosquitoes in malaria elimination strategies that ...
Experts oppose plan to breed mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Target malariaT. Abet, Daily Monitor, 2021.
Environmentalists have opposed the plan to breed and release genetically modified mosquitoes in the country to curb malaria prevalence. They say the act presents substantial human and environmental health risks. Their objection follows last week’s announcement by scientists ...
Genetically modified mosquitoes to curb malaria
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Target malariaT. Abet, Daily Monitor, 2021.
Scientists at Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) have started breeding mosquitoes with the aim of modifying their genetic materials and releasing them to the environment to curb malaria transmission. The genetically modified mosquitoes, according to the scientists, do not ...
New genetically modified mosquitoes to help fight malaria
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Target malariaD. Zirimala, Capital Radio FM, 2021.
According to Dr. Jonathan Kayondo, the principal investigator of the Target Malaria project, the genetically modified mosquitoes do not transmit malaria parasites when they bite. These are made infertile so that when they cross breed with the female anopheles mosquito, they are ...
Technical Support to Burkina Faso on Gene Drive Stage 2 Dossier Review
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Risk assessmentAUDA-NEPAD, AUDA-NEPAD, 2020.
AUDA-NEPAD in partnership with the National Biosafety Agency (ANB) in Burkina Faso organised a training workshop to support to the National Biosafety Committee (NBC) on stage 2 dossier review, on December 3 – 5, 2020, in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. In addition to the NBC ...
Burkina Faso Stakeholders consultations on Gene Drive Technology for integrated vector management towards malaria elimination
Tags: Africa, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safety, Vector controlAUDA-NEPAD, AUDA-NEPAD, 2020.
Under its flagship Integrated Vector Management (IVM) Programme, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in partnership with the National biosafety agency (ANB) of Burkina Faso organized an information sharing workshop on the applications of "Gene Drive" technology and ...
ARRIGE 2020 Meeting | The promise of CRISPR and gene drive systems to end malaria in Africa
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Population modification/replacement, Population suppression, Stakeholder engagement, Target malaria, Video, WebinarE. Gomez-Diaz, ARRIGE org, 2020.
Presentation by Elena Gómez Díaz (IPBLN-CSIC, Granada, Spain) at the ARRIGE 2020 meeting on "The promise of CRISPR and gene drive systems to end malaria in Africa". Discussion is included at the end of the Ruud de Maagd presentation.https://youtu.be/te3MJ8EZoes
Gene drive blocks malaria transmission in mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetics, Malaria, Population modification/replacementlabonline, labonline, 2020.
Employing a strategy known as ‘population modification’, which involves using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive system to introduce genes preventing parasite transmission into mosquito chromosomes, University of California (UC) researchers have made a major advance in the use of ...
Expert advises farmers to adopt gene drive-based pest control technology
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Pest management, Population suppressionS. Thompson, naija247news, 2020.
Dr Rose Gidado, County Coordinator, Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology(OFAB), has advised farmers to adopt the gene drive-based pest control technology. Gidado, also Deputy Director, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), said the adoption would significantly ...
A gene-drive rescue system for the modification of malaria mosquito populations
Tags: Africa, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetics, Malaria, Population modification/replacementA. Adolfi, Nature Research Bioengineering Community, 2020.
Mosquito populations can now be reliably modified using 1) antimalarial molecules that block parasite development and 2) a CRISPR-based gene drive system that mediates their rapid spreading across the vector population.
UC researchers pioneer more effective method of blocking malaria transmission in mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetics, Malaria, Population modification/replacementUCI, UCI News, 2020.
University of California, Irvine postdoctoral researcher Adriana Adolfi, in collaboration with colleagues at UCI, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, followed up on the group’s pioneering effort to develop CRISPR-based gene drive systems for making mosquito vectors resistant to ...
Efficient population modification gene-drive rescue system in the malaria mosquito Anopheles stephensi
Tags: Africa, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Genetics, Malaria, Population modification/replacementA. Adolfi, V. M. Gantz, N. Jasinskiene, H.-F. Lee, K. Hwang, G. Terradas, E. A. Bulger, A. Ramaiah, J. B. Bennett, J. J. Emerson, J. M. Marshall, E. Bier and A. A. James, Nature Communications, 11:5553. 2020.
Here, we develop a recoded gene-drive rescue system for population modification of the malaria vector, Anopheles stephensi, that relieves the load in females caused by integration of the drive into the kynurenine hydroxylase gene by rescuing its function. Non-functional resistant ...
Is Gene Editing the Answer to Eradicating Malaria in Africa?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population suppressionStaff, ASH Clinical News, 2020.
Researchers are looking at a new technique to eradicate malaria: Engineering mosquitoes with a “gene drive” – a gene that when inserted into mosquitoes (or other organisms) will be passed on to nearly 100% of the offspring in the next generation, rather than just half the ...
Inauguration and first meeting of WA-IVM Technical Working Groups
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyAUDA-NEPAD, AUDA-NEPAD News, 2020.
African Union Development Agency – NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) in collaboration with the West Africa Health Organization (WAHO), the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment in Cote d’Ivoire, organized the inaugural meeting of WA-IVM Technical Working Groups (TWGs) from 24 ...
Do Africans Want Genetically Modified Mosquitoes?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Policy, Regulation, Stakeholder engagementU. Effiong, The Pursuit, 2020.
The recent publication by fellow Nigerian scientists—Patricia Okorie and colleagues—originally drew my attention to the issue of GMMs.
Vector genetics, insecticide resistance and gene drives: An agent-based modeling approach to evaluate malaria transmission and elimination
Tags: Africa, Evolution, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Modeling, MosquitoesP. Selvaraj, E. A. Wenger, D. Bridenbecker, N. Windbichler, J. R. Russell, J. Gerardin, C. A. Bever and M. Nikolov, PloS Computational Biology, 16:21. 2020.
Here, we investigate the reduced efficacy of current vector control measures in the presence of insecticide resistance and evaluate the likelihood of achieving local malaria elimination using gene drive mosquitoes released into a high transmission setting alongside other vector ...
Modelling the suppression of a malaria vector using a CRISPR-Cas9 gene drive to reduce female fertility
Tags: Africa, CRISPR, Gene drive synthetic, Modeling, Population suppression, Replicator/site directed nucleaseA. R. North, A. Burt and H. C. J. Godfray, BMC Biology, 18:98. 2020.
Gene drives based on CRISPR-Cas9 technology are increasingly being considered as tools for reducing the capacity of mosquito populations to transmit malaria, and one of the most promising options is driving endonuclease genes that reduce the fertility of female mosquitoes. Here, ...
Fighting malaria with genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Containment, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Target malariaE. Nakkazi, BMJ, 370:m2172. 2020.
Could a bold project to genetically engineer mosquitoes curb the scourge of malaria in Africa? Finding out will require careful science—and public acceptance, writes Esther Nakkazi
Après les OGM, la nouvelle technique du forçage génétique inquiète écologistes et scientifiques
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Risk and safety, Stakeholder engagementH. Leussier, Reporterre, 2020.
Les organismes issus du forçage génétique peuvent transmettre, sans autre intervention humaine, des gènes modifiés à tous leurs descendants. Cette technique permettrait d’éradiquer des espèces nuisibles, comme certains moustiques vecteurs de la malaria. Mais des ...
CSOs raise alarm over genetically-engineered mosquitoes in Nigeria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyA. Oboh, Vanguard, 2020.
No fewer than 75 civil society organisations, CSOs, across the world have raised the alarm over moves to release genetically-modified mosquitoes in Nigeria, noting that the country was about to be used as a guinea pig for the project, which will endanger humans, biodiversity and ...
Groups warn against release of genetically-engineered mosquitoes in Nigeria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyC. Onyesi, Daily Post, 2020.
C. Onyesi (2020). Daily Post. Over 75 Civil Society Organizations from Nigeria, Africa and the world have condemned moves to open the way for the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Nigeria.
Malaria: Over 75 CSOs raise alarm over plans to release nautically engineered mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, Regulation, Risk and safetyNews Agency of Nigeria, WorldStage, 2020.
Mre than 75 Environmental Civil Society Organisations from Nigeria, Africa and other countries have condemned moves to open way for release of genetically modified mosquitoes to control malaria infection. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that at a virtual meeting of ...
Nigerian government restates commitment to safety in applying modern biotechnology
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified organisms, Policy, RegulationAgencies, today ng, 2020.
The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has reiterated its commitment to ensure the safety of the public while applying modern biotechnology to boost food security and economic development of citizens. Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director-General, NBMA, gave the assurance at a ...
Role of gene drives in malaria elimination strategy: modeling impact and cost-effectiveness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, X chromosomeN. Metchanun, C. Borgemeister, J. von Braun, M. Nikolov, P. Selvaraj and J. Gerardin, medRxiv, 2020.
The tremendous burden of malaria has led to renewed efforts on malaria elimination and the development of novel tools for application where existing tools fall short. Gene drive mosquitoes, where transgenes and their associated phenotypes are efficiently propagated to future ...
Who is afraid of genetically modified mosquitoes?
Tags: Africa, Genetic biocontrol, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Governance, North America, Oxitec, Regulation, Risk and safety, Sterile insect technique (SIT)G. Odogwu, The PUNCH, 2020.
Genetically Modified Organisms have raised concerns in our clime, the same way they have in other countries of the world – where a clear line is drawn between the pro and the anti-GMO citizens. Nonetheless, this modern biotechnological technique is still at its infancy here. As ...
Motivations and expectations driving community participation in entomological research projects: Target Malaria as a case study in Bana, Western Burkina Faso
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Stakeholder engagementN. Barry, P. Toé, L. Pare Toe, J. Lezaun, M. Drabo, R. K. Dabiré and A. Diabate, Malaria Journal, 19:199. 2020.
Most field entomology research projects require active participation by local community members. Since 2012, Target Malaria, a not-for-profit research consortium, has been working with residents in the village of Bana, in Western Burkina Faso, in various studies involving ...
Position Paper on Integrated Vector Management: Strengthening AU Members’ Regulatory Capacities for Responsible Research Towards Elimination of Malaria in Africa
Tags: Africa, Ethics, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Policy, Regulation, Stakeholder engagement, Vector controlAfrican Union Development Agency - NEPAD, AUDA-NEPAD, 2020.
Africa continues to bear a heavy brunt of the malaria which is a disease transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. Thousands of lives, mostly of young children, are lost every year; which undermines efforts deployed at various levels for increased life expectancy and improved ...
Gene editing and the war against malaria
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Malaria, Population modification/replacement, Population suppressionE. Bier and E. Sobber, American Scientist, 102:162. 2020.
Malaria is a devastating disease transmitted from person to person by mosquitoes. It kills more than 400,000 people per year, more than half of those deaths being children 5 years old or younger. CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a new ...
Understanding the Science of Gene Drive and the Potential for an Improved Crop Pest Control System in Nigeria
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive synthetic, Genetic biocontrol, Pest managementA. Isah and R. S. M. Gidado, OFAB Nigeria, 2020.
Several studies have shown that the Cas9-mediated gene drive technology is cheaper and will be easily affordable by the efficient Nigerian scientists to explore. The application of the gene drive technologies have many more controls over several other devastating insects in ...
Community Engagement Prior to a Small-Scale Pilot of the Sterile Insect Technique in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa 2018
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Stakeholder engagement, Sterile insect technique (SIT)P. N. Manana, J. Zikhali, D. Dlamini, S. Gumede, N. Mabaso, T. Mpungose and G. Munhenga, Journal of Public Health and Disease Prevention, 2. 2019.
Approximately 165 000 listeners were engaged during two 30 minute radio interviews at a local radio station. Two hundred and fifty farm workers, several outpatients from primary health care facilities and 1400 secondary school pupils were given education on malaria transmission ...
‘We don’t want to be guinea pigs’: how one African community is fighting genetically modified mosquitoes
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Self limiting, Target malariaA. Pujol-Mazzini, The Telegraph, 2019.
Researchers from the Target Malaria consortium, a not-for-profit research group funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and various research institutions, have developed a mosquito in their laboratory that can kill off its own species by spreading a faulty gene. If it ...
Scientists release sterile mosquitoes in Burkina to fight malaria
Tags: Africa, Field trials, Gene drive synthetic, Population suppression, Target malariaT. Ndiaga, Reuters, 2019.
Scientists in Burkina Faso have deployed a new weapon in the fight against malaria, and waded into a thorny bioethics debate, by letting loose thousands of genetically sterilized mosquitoes.Their experiment is the first outside the lab to release genetically altered mosquitoes in ...
Gene Drives in Africa: Civil Society Speaks Out
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Policy, Regulation, Stakeholder engagement, Target malariaAfrican Centre for Biodiversity, 2019.
On Monday 1st July 2019, Target Malaria announced the release of genetically modified (GM) sterile male mosquitoes in Bana, a village in Burkina Faso – the first GM insect to be released in Africa. This is Phase I – by Phase III, Target Malaria aims to release gene drive ...
The Release of Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso: Bioeconomy of Science, Public Engagement and Trust in Medicine
Tags: Africa, Ethics, Genetically modified organisms, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Policy, Risk and safetyBeisel, UG, J. K., African Studies Review, 62:164-173. 2019.
Malaria, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, continues to be responsible for a significant number of disease episodes and childhood deaths on the African continent. A variety of mosquito control strategies are currently inplace, but since case numbers are rising again, and drug ...
Do not betray Africa on synbio and gene drives
Tags: Africaetc group, etc group, 2018.
As representatives of a broad range of African civil society organisations (CSOs), we do not feel represented by the delegations of Nigeria and South Africa, speaking on behalf of African Group, in their attempt to speak on behalf of the people of Africa on the issue of synthetic ...
Sterile insect technique field trials to eliminate malaria under way
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Malaria, Sterile insect technique (SIT)Anonymous, SA Department of Science and Innovation, 2018.
The first South African research trial for the biological control of mosquitoes using the sterile insect technique started in Jozini in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this month, with funding from the Department of Science and Technology. South Africa is making significant progress in ...
Why is this African village letting mosquitoes in?
Tags: Africa, Gene drive, MosquitoesBBC, BBC, 2018.
This is a BBC spot about the first release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Africa by the Target Malaria team. Very little information about gene drive but the context of this spot is notable.
Just Say No to Agricultural Gene Drives
Tags: Africa, Agriculture, Gene drive syntheticBassey-Orovwuje, M., Project Syndicate, 2018.
By forcing laboratory-made genes on an entire population or species, cutting-edge gene-drive technologies have the power to transform entire ecosystems in one fell swoop. But where leading industrial agriculture firms see dollar signs, farmers in the regions where gene drives ...
For the first time, researchers will release genetically engineered mosquitoes in Africa
Tags: Africa, Gene drive synthetic, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Mosquitoes, Target malariaIke Swetitz, STAT, 2018.
The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release genetically engineered mosquitoes anytime this year or next, researchers announced Wednesday. It’s a key step in the broader efforts to use bioengineering to eliminate malaria in the region.
A Revolutionary Genetic Experiment is Planned for a West African Village – If Residents Agree
Tags: Africa, Field trials, Gene drive synthetic, Target malariaIke Swetitz, STAT, 2017.
This small village of mud-brick homes in West Africa might seem the least likely place for an experiment at the frontier of biology. Yet scientists here are engaged in what could be the most promising, and perhaps one of the most frightening, biological experiments of our ...
Mating competitiveness of sterile genetic sexing strain males (GAMA) under laboratory and semi-field conditions: Steps towards the use of the Sterile Insect Technique to control the major malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis in South Africa
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Genetically modified mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)G. Munhenga, B. D. Brooke, J. R. L. Gilles, K. Slabbert, A. Kemp, L. C. Dandalo, O. R. Wood, L. N. Lobb, D. Govender, M. Renke and L. L. Koekemoer, Parasites and Vectors, 9:122. 2016.
Anopheles arabiensis Patton is primarily responsible for malaria transmission in South Africa after successful suppression of other major vector species using indoor spraying of residual insecticides. Control of An. arabiensis using current insecticide based approaches is proving ...
Perceptions and recommendations by scientists for a potential release of genetically modified mosquitoes in Nigeria
Tags: Africa, Policy, Stakeholder engagementP. N. Okorie, J. M. Marshall, O. M. Akpa and O. G. Ademowo, Malaria Journal, 13:154. 2014.
The use of genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs) for the control of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases has been proposed in malaria-endemic countries, such as Nigeria, which has the largest burden in Africa. Scientists are major stakeholders whose opinions and perceptions ...
The Impact of Pyrethroid Resistance on the Efficacy of Insecticide-Treated Bed Nets against African Anopheline Mosquitoes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Malaria, ResistanceC. Strode, S. Donegan, P. Garner, A. A. Enayati and J. Hemingway, PLOS Medicine, 11:e1001619. 2014.
This meta-analysis found that ITNs are more effective than UTNs regardless of resistance. There appears to be a relationship between resistance and the RD for mosquito mortality in laboratory and field studies. However, the substantive heterogeneity in the studies' results and ...
Swarming and mating behavior of male Anopheles arabiensis Patton (Diptera: Culicidae) in an area of the Sterile Insect Technique Project in Dongola, northern Sudan
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. M. Hassan, H. M. Zain, M. A. Basheer, H. E. F. Elhaj and B. B. El-Sayed, Acta Tropica, 132:S64-S69. 2013.
The problems facing the conventional mosquito control methods including resistance to insecticides have led to the development of alternative methods such as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to suppress populations of the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis in northern Sudan. ...
Evaluating the potential of the sterile insect technique for malaria control: relative fitness and mating compatibility between laboratory colonized and a wild population of Anopheles arabiensis from the Kruger National Park, South Africa
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Sterile insect technique (SIT)G. Munhenga, B. D. Brooke, T. F. Chirwa, R. H. Hunt, M. Coetzee, D. Govender and L. L. Koekemoer, Parasites and Vectors, 4:208. 2011.
The successful suppression of a target insect population using the sterile insect technique (SIT) partly depends on the premise that the laboratory insects used for mass rearing are genetically compatible with the target population, that the mating competitiveness of laboratory ...
Pyrethroid resistance in African anopheline mosquitoes: what are the implications for malaria control?
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Malaria, ResistanceH. Ranson, R. N’Guessan, J. Lines, N. Moiroux, Z. Nkuni and V. Corbel, Trends in Parasitology, 27:91-98. 2011.
The use of pyrethroid insecticides in malaria vector control has increased dramatically in the past decade through the scale up of insecticide treated net distribution programmes and indoor residual spraying campaigns. Inevitably, the major malaria vectors have developed ...
Ethical, legal and social aspects of the approach in Sudan
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Ethics, Governance, Mosquitoes, Regulation, Sterile insect technique (SIT)B. B. El Sayed, C. A. Malcolm, A. Babiker, E. M. Malik, M. A. H. El Tayeb, N. S. Saeed, A. H. D. Nugud and B. G. J. Knols, Malaria Journal, 8:S3. 2009.
The global malaria situation, especially in Africa, and the problems frequently encountered in chemical control of vectors such as insecticide resistance, emphasize the urgency of research, development and implementation of new vector control technologies that are applicable at ...
Field site selection: getting it right first time around
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Malaria, Sterile insect technique (SIT)C. A. Malcolm, B. El Sayed, A. Babiker, R. Girod, D. Fontenille, B. G. J. Knols, A. H. Nugud and M. Q. Benedict, Malaria Journal, 8. 2009.
The selection of suitable field sites for integrated control of Anopheles mosquitoes using the sterile insect technique (SIT) requires consideration of the full gamut of factors facing most proposed control strategies, but four criteria identify an ideal site: 1) a single malaria ...
Spatial and temporal distribution of the malaria mosquito Anopheles arabiensis in northern Sudan: influence of environmental factors and implications for vector control
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)T. B. Ageep, J. Cox, M. M. Hassan, B. G. J. Knols, M. Q. Benedict, C. A. Malcolm, A. Babiker and B. B. El Sayed, Malaria Journal, 8:14. 2009.
Background: Malaria is an important public health problem in northern Sudan, but little is known about the dynamics of its transmission. Given the characteristic low densities of Anopheles arabiensis and the difficult terrain in this area, future vector control strategies are ...
Towards a sterile insect technique field release of Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes in Sudan: Irradiation, transportation, and field cage experimentation
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Malaria, Mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. E. H. Helinski, M. M. Hassan, W. M. El-Motasim, C. A. Malcolm, B. G. J. Knols and B. El-Sayed, Malaria Journal, 7:10. 2008.
Background: The work described in this article forms part of a study to suppress a population of the malaria vector Anopheles arabiensis in Northern State, Sudan, with the Sterile Insect Technique. No data have previously been collected on the irradiation and transportation of ...
The Sterile Insect Technique: can established technology beat malaria?
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Mosquitoes, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. E. H. Helinski, B. El-Sayed and B. G. J. Knols, Entomologische Berichten, 66:13-20. 2006.
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is the mass production, sterilisation and subsequent release of sterile insects into a target population in an area-wide integrated approach. The released sterile males mate with wild females; they thus no longer produce offspring and therefore ...
Radiation-induced sterility for pupal and adult stages of the malaria mosquito Anopheles arabiensis
Tags: Africa, Anopheles, Genetic biocontrol, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. E. H. Helinski, A. G. Parker and B. G. J. Knols, Malaria Journal, 5:10. 2006.
The optimal dose for male insects to be released in an SIT programme depends on their level of sterility and competitiveness. The use of semi-sterilizing doses to produce more competitive insects is discussed. The most convenient developmental stage for mosquito irradiation on a ...
Tsetse fly eradication in Burkina Faso and evaluation of traps and targets
Tags: Africa, Other arthropods, Sterile insect technique (SIT)M. Clair, D. Cuisance, H. Politzar, P. Merot and B. Bauer, STERILE INSECT TECHNIQUE FOR TSETSE CONTROL AND ERADICATION, 1990.
Control operations against tsetse flies with the sterile insect technique (SIT) were conducted by the Centre de recherches sur les trypanosomoses animales (CRTA) (Institut d’élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux/Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit ...
The eradication of Glossina-palpalis-palpalis (Robineau-Desvoidy) (diptera, Glossinidae) using traps, insecticide-impregnated targets and the sterile insect technique in central Nigeria
Tags: Africa, Other arthropods, Sterile insect technique (SIT)W. Takken, M. A. Oladunmade, L. Dengwat, H. U. Feldmann, J. A. Onah, S. O. Tenabe and H. J. Hamann, Bulletin of Entomological Research, 76:275-286. 1986.
The integrated use of biconical traps, insecticide-impregnated targets and the sterile insect technique was developed for the eradication of Glossina palpalis palpalis (Robineau-Desvoidy) in a 1500-km2 area of central Nigeria. Six weeks or more of continuous removal trapping, ...
Integration of insect sterility and insecticides for control of Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood (Diptera: Glossinidae) in Tanzania. IV. Application of endosulfan as an aerosol prior to release of sterile males
Tags: Africa, Other arthropods, Sterile insect technique (SIT)D. L. Williamson, D. A. Dame, C. W. Lee, D. B. Gates and P. E. Cobb, Bulletin of Entomological Research, 73:383-389. 1983.
As part of a programme to test the sterile insect technique against Glossina morsitans morsitans Westw. in Tanzania, two aerial applications of endosulfan were applied to a 195-km2 test area. The applications were made with a 28-day interval to provide an initial reduction in the ...
Sterility introduced by release of genetically altered males to a domestic population of Aedes aegypti at the Kenya coast
Tags: Aedes, Africa, Genetic biocontrol, Population suppressionP. T. McDonald, W. Hausermann and N. Lorimer, Am J Trop Med Hyg, 26:553-61. 1977.
A decade ago the concept of the sterile insect release method (SIRM) of control was generally limited to the induction of sterility through either radiation or chemical treatment. Since then the concept of genetic control has broadened to in dude the SIRM of natural sterility as ...