Mosquitoes carrying malaria have almost disappeared in regions of sub-Saharan Africa, and data from Tanzania, Eritrea, Rwanada, Kenya and Zambia all suggest that the incidence of malaria is dropping quickly, Danish scientists reported in an article for Malaria Journal. The researchers are unsure of the causes of this situation, which some speculate could be because of the implementation of anti-mosquito bed nets and other control programs. In 2004, scientists caught 5,000 of the genus Anglopheles, a parasite mosquito which carries malaria, but in 2009, only 14 were caught in 2,368 traps. This data was obtained in a village which did not have any control programs or nets, however. Another hypothesis is that chaotic patterns of rainfall may have disturbed the natural cycle of mosquitoes, as occurred in the 1990s. Dan Meyrowitsch, associate professor at the University of Copenhagen's Institute for Public Health, said another cause may be a disease between the mosquitoes, such as a fungis or virus.
If the mosquito population rises again, sub-Saharan Africa will face a greater epidemic of malaria with an increased level of disease and mortality rate because the lack of exposure has caused a drop in immunity.
-compiled by Fiza Hashmi
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