An. stephensi, which was hitherto only found in some regions of South Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, has been expanding its geographic range over the past ten years. Recent detections have been made in Djibouti (2012), Ethiopia and Sudan (2016), Somalia (2019), and Nigeria (2020). It flourishes in urban areas, unlike the other primary mosquito vectors of malaria in Africa.
Anopheles stephensi's expansion in Africa
An. stephensi's invasion and expansion could represent a serious danger to the management and eradication of malaria in the region because more than 40% of people in Africa live in urban areas. However, widespread monitoring of the vector is still in its infancy, necessitating an urgent need for more information and data.
Dr. Jan Kolaczinski, who oversees the Vector Control and Insecticide Resistance unit of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, said that researchers are still learning about the existence of Anopheles stephensi and its contribution to malaria transmission in Africa. It's critical to stress that we are still unsure of the extent of the mosquito species' expansion and the potential severity of its problems.
Through a five-pronged strategy, the new WHO initiative seeks to enable an efficient regional response against An. stephensi on the continent of Africa:
growing cross-sector and cross-border cooperation;
enhancing surveillance to assess An. stephensi's transmission role and the degree of its spread;
enhancing communication of information regarding the existence of An. stephensi and control measures;
creating guidelines on how to respond to An. stephensi for national malaria control programs
putting more emphasis on research to assess how tools and interventions can be used to combat An. Stephensi
The "secret to success" is integrated action.
National efforts to combat An. stephensi should be coordinated, if possible, with those to combat malaria and other vector-borne illnesses like dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya. A framework for looking into and putting this integration into practice is provided by the WHO Global Vector Control Response 2017–2030.
Dr. Ebenezer Baba, a malaria expert for the WHO African Region, said that the key to success against Anopheles stephensi and other vector-borne diseases is "integrated action." He continued, "Turning our attention to integrated and locally tailored vector control can save both money and lives.
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