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Physical And Human Factors

The table below shows a summary of physical and human causes of malaria.

Malaria is spread by the female anopheles mosquito. When an infected mosquito bites a person, the malaria parasite is passed into the human bloodstream, infecting them.

Mosquitoes in turn can pick up the parasite from an infected human and then pass it on when they bite someone else.

Malaria leads to large numbers of children under five dying. Adults with malaria are too weak to work which leads to a loss of productivity. They may not be able to produce enough food for their family. Therefore they remain poor.

As a result they may not have enough to eat, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to disease. A country's limited resources are used up in health care rather than in education or improving services. This hinders development.

Tourists may be less likely to visit a country with malaria so there is less revenue for the country.

No More Bugging: How Egypt Became Certified Malaria-free

Malaria is a deadly disease caused by a parasite spread by the Anopheles species of mosquito. The condition tends to be more prevalent in warmer regions and those near the equator, including sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Oceania and parts of Central and South America and Southeast Asia. Egypt once had high levels of malaria but was able to curb transmission after a nearly 100-year effort. As a result of the country's work, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Egypt to be certified malaria-free.

Malaria no more

The WHO only designates a country malaria-free once the country has proven "beyond reasonable doubt, that the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles mosquitoes has been interrupted nationwide for at least the previous three consecutive years," and has demonstrated the "capacity to prevent the reestablishment of transmission," said the WHO. The agency to date has only granted the designation to 44 countries and one territory. Egypt is the latest to reach the milestone.

In Egypt, the disease can be traced back as far as 4000 BCE, with evidence of the disease being found in some mummies. The effort to curb the disease took shape in the 1920s when the country prevented the cultivation of rice and other crops near houses. Malaria was designated a notifiable disease in 1930 when prevalence hit 40% and "Egypt later opened its first malaria control station focused on diagnosis, treatment and surveillance," said the WHO.

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World War II, with its resulting population displacement and disruption of medical supplies, along with the completion of the Aswan Dam in 1969, which increased the country's volume of standing water, caused a spike in cases. In response to the malaria uptick, "Egypt, in collaboration with Sudan, launched a rigorous vector control and public health surveillance project to rapidly detect and respond to malaria outbreaks."

Malaria was "firmly under control" by 2001. Throughout Egypt, malaria diagnosis and treatment are free of charge for everyone regardless of legal status, and the country has fostered "strong cross-border partnership with neighboring countries," said the WHO. "Malaria is as old as Egyptian civilization itself, but the disease that plagued pharaohs now belongs to its history," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "This certification of Egypt as malaria-free is truly historic, and a testament to the commitment of the people and government of Egypt to rid themselves of this ancient scourge."

Disease domination

Malaria kills approximately 600,000 people each year, with most deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is most prevalent in tropical and subtropical climates. While vaccines and preventative medicines are available in some parts of the world, "monitoring the disease and avoiding mosquito bites are the most effective ways to prevent malaria," said the BBC. Products like mosquito nets and bug sprays can help prevent mosquito bites and the spread of malaria.

The growing problem is that the range of mosquitos has slowly been increasing due to climate change. Warming temperatures are causing malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses to spread to regions that may have been safe from the disease before. Egypt's success in limiting malaria showcases how proper government intervention can benefit public health. "Receiving the malaria elimination certificate today is not the end of the journey but the beginning of a new phase," H.E. Dr Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, the Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt, said. "We must now work tirelessly and vigilantly to sustain our achievement through maintaining the highest standards for surveillance, diagnosis and treatment, integrated vector management and sustaining our effective and rapid response to imported cases."

Gene-hacked 'toxic Mosquitoes' Created To Have Venomous Semen Could Poison Disease-spreading Females Through Mating

GENETICALLY engineered "toxic male" mosquitoes could help kill off disease-spreading females.

Scientists say the gene-hacked male insects can cull female numbers by mating with venomous semen.

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Mosquitoes could be genetically modified to poison disease-spreading females that bite humansCredit: Getty - Contributor

Until now, most "modified mosquito" research has focused on creating males that mate with wild females and cause them to only create male young or stop them from producing offspring entirely.

But this new research shows that "toxic males" that shorten the lifespan of female mosquitoes could also be effective.

It's only the females of mosquito species like Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae that actually bite humans.

And if they do bite, they risk transmitting deadly diseases like malaria, dengue fever, Zika, chikungunya disease, and yellow fever.

Scientists say insects cause hundreds of thousands of deaths and "millions of infections" each year – costing billions.

With this new method, populations of biting females could be "immediately reduced".

It would work by genetically engineering the male insects to produce venom proteins in their semen.

These proteins would be transferred during mating, which would "significantly reduce female lifespan and their ability to spread disease".

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"As we've learned from Covid-19, reducing the spread of these diseases as quickly as possible is important to prevent epidemics," said Sam Beach of Macquarie University, lead author on the Nature study.

"By targeting female mosquitoes themselves rather than their offspring, TMT is the first biocontrol technology that could work as quickly as pesticides without also harming beneficial species."

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Researchers tested the theory with fruit flies.

And they found that females that had mated with "toxic males" had their lifespans shortened by 37-64%.

They also ran a computer simulation to see if it work for mosquitoes.

And the research showed that introducing "toxic males" to the Aedes aegypti could reduce blood-feeding rates by 40-60%.

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This graphic shows the traditional approach to genetically modified mosquitoes – versus the newer system of killing off female mosquitoes with matingCredit: Nature / Macquarie University

MOSQUITOES – THE FACTS

Here's what you need to know...

Only female mosquitoes bite humans, they need the blood to help their eggs develop.

There are more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes in the world.

Mosquito is Spanish for "little fly".

The insect can drink up to three times its weight in blood.

The average mosquito lifespan is less than 2 months long.

They spend their first 10 days alive in water.

The tiny creatures can smell human breath.

They are picky about the smell of your sweat.

Mosquitoes have been around since the Jurassic period.

They do not spread HIV because the virus is digested in their stomachs

Now scientists hope to test the theory for real and see if it actually works.

"We still need to implement it in mosquitoes," said Associate Professor Maciej Maselko.

"And conduct rigorous safety testing to ensure there are no risks to humans or other non-target species."

The scientists say that the venoms are carefully selected so that they're not toxic to mammals.

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Gene-hacked mosquitoes could help reduce the spread of diseaseCredit: Alamy

And they've designed the venoms to avoid causing harm when consumed by other insects deemed "beneficial".

"This innovative solution could transform how we manage pests, offering hope for healthier communities and a more sustainable future," said Beach.

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