Deadly mosquito Anopheles

2001/01/30 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Zoologia

The Anopheles mosquito in the photo transmits a malaria, a terrible and deadly disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 400 million people suffer from malaria each year and, despite the healing of the disease, about two million people die each year. 40% of the world is in danger of contagion, but 9 out of 10 sick people live in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria attacks especially children and the most frequent victims are children under 5 years of age: roughly 3,000 children die every day of malaria.

40 years ago scientists thought that malaria was on the way to eradication: through drug cocktails they managed to kill the parasitic organism that causes the disease, while with the insecticide DDT with the host mosquito of the parasite. But the belief was corrupt. Mosquitoes began to develop mechanisms to resist the insecticide and the responsible for malaria, the parasitic organism Plasmodium falciparum, became resistant to most drugs. Today the kingdom of mosquitoes that pollute malaria becomes huge again.

The malaria vaccine is essential in underdeveloped countries. It will soon come!