Africa Invaded By ‘Stubborn’ Mosquitoes From Iran and India Immune To Insecticides – Report

A report has emerged indicating a breed of mosquitoes Anopheles stephensi from India and Iran are spreading malaria in Africa’s urban area resistant to Insecticides. 

African experts say this mosquito can reverse decades of progress against malaria is actions are not taken in a timely manner. 

Stephensi was confirmed as present in Kenya in late 2022, but has so far stayed in hotter, dryer areas. 

“We don’t yet fully understand the biology and behaviour of this mosquito,” Charles Mbogo, president of the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association, said.

The mosquito breed also appears to be highly resistant to insecticides, and bites earlier in the evening than other carriers. That means bed nets, up to now the prime weapon against malaria may be much less effective.

The spread of stephensi could dovetail with other worrying trends, including increased evidence of drug resistant malaria recorded in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Eritrea.

Africa accounted for about 95 percent of the 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 deaths worldwide in 2022, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which said children under five accounted for 80 percent of deaths in the region.

Anopheles stephensi is native to parts of South Asia and the Middle East but was spotted for the first time in the tiny Horn of Africa state of Djibouti in 2012.

Djibouti had all but eradicated malaria only to see it make a slow but steady return over the following years, hitting more than 70,000 cases in 2020. 

Then stephensi arrived in neighbouring Ethiopia and WHO says it is key to an “unprecedented surge”, from 4.1 million malaria cases and 527 deaths last year to 7.3 million cases and 1,157 deaths between January 1 and October 20, 2024.

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