Small, delicate, mighty mosquito

By Rebecca Kwei Did you know that there are more than three thousand species of mosquitoes? Oh yes, there are! And the world’s 3,000 species of mosquitoes transmit more diseases than any other creature. However, according to National Geographic, “the members of three species bear primary responsibility for the spread of human diseases.” These are the Anopheles mosquitoes which are the only species known to carry malaria. They also transmit filariasis (also called elephantiasis) and encephalitis. Then there are Culex mosquitoes which carry encephalitis, filariasis and the West Nile virus while the Aedes mosquitoes, of which the Asian tiger is a member, carry yellow fever, dengue and encephalitis. On August 20 every year, the world celebrates World Mosquito Day to raise awareness of the diseases caused by mosquitoes. On August 20, 1897, Sir Ronald Ross made a historic discovery that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria. This finding led scientists across the world to better understand the deadly role of mosquitoes and devise effective interventions to stop them. Although it is a small, delicate insect, the mosquito is one of the deadliest creatures. Malaria kills millions of people across the world. The World Malaria Report said there were 228 million cases and 405,000 malaria-related deaths worldwide in 2018. It is worthy to note that Ghana has made gains in the fight against malaria in the last decade, according to figures from the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP). Malaria-related deaths across all ages in the country were reduced by 89 per cent from 2,799 in 2012 to 308 at the end of 2020. Also, malaria-related admissions for all ages reduced by 27.8 per cent from 428,000 in 2012 to 308,887 in 2020, while the case fatality rate among children under five years decreased from 0.6 per cent in 2012 to 0.12 per cent in 2020. Mosquitoes keep changing and becoming resistant to insecticides. While they keep evolving, scientists also continue to find innovative solutions to combat insecticide-resistant mosquitoes. Several cost-effective interventions such as sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor residual spraying with insecticides and larviciding that protect people from mosquitoes are being implemented to prevent malaria. For the Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Keziah Malm, young people are good change agents and they need to be part of the fight against malaria to help sustain the gains made. As young people, it is important that you play your part to prevent the spread of mosquitoes by ensuring that there are no breeding sites for them in your homes and communities. Although some mosquitoes breed in dirty gutters and filthy areas, the Anopheles mosquito prefers relatively clean water. The Anopheles mosquito lays its eggs in areas where it can get clean stagnant water such as in flower pots, ponds, pot holes, dug out pits, hoof prints, puddles, rice fields and streams. Therefore, it is important to keep your environment very clean. It is also essential to sleep under insecticide treated bed nets and people in areas where indoor residual spraying or larviciding projects are conducted should take advantage of them. It has been 124 years since the historic discovery that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria. A lot has been done to control and eliminate malaria all over the world. To sustain the gains made, extra efforts is required from everyone because malaria continues to kill millions of people. As the United States Global Malaria Coordinator and Executive Director of the USAID COVID-19 Task Force, Dr Ken Staley, noted in a blog post “hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing might help protect families from COVID-19, but it won’t protect them from the world’s deadliest animal.”