A South Asian-native mosquito that is resistant to insecticides used in Africa have been found by Kenyan researchers.
Anopheles stephensi was the mosquito that experts from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) detected during a regular monitoring in the northern Marsabit county.
Even though it was not the typical season for the disease because local mosquitoes don’t perform well in arid locations, data from hospitals there also revealed an increase in malaria cases.
This invasive mosquito can spawn anywhere and flourish in both dry and wet weather. Its larvae have been discovered in urban water containers in several nations. Scientists are worried that malaria transmission would no longer be seasonal but rather year-round.
“Unfortunately, this detection in Kenya may translate to higher malaria transmission in urban and peri-urban settings in the country and could reverse gains made in the fight against malaria,” said KEMRI’s director-general, Dr. Samuel Kariuki.
Malaria, one of the leading causes of death in children under the age of five, will also be more challenging to eradicate.
The researchers are advising Kenyans to employ the malaria prevention methods already in place, such as using insect repellents, wearing long sleeves, and sleeping under treated mosquito bed nets.
The mosquito was discovered in Africa for the first time in Djibouti ten years ago, and has since been found in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, and Nigeria.