Windborne long-distance migration of malaria mosquitoes in the Sahel.

ABSTRACT: Over the past two decades efforts to control malaria have halved the number of cases globally, yet burdens remain high in much of Africa and the elimination of malaria has not been achieved even in areas where extreme reductions have been sustained, such as South Africa^1,2. Studies seeking to understand the paradoxical persistence of malaria in areas in which surface water is absent for 3-8 months of the year have suggested that some species of Anopheles mosquito use long-distance migration³. Here we confirm this hypothesis through aerial sampling of mosquitoes at 40-290 m above ground level and provide-to our knowledge-the first evidence of windborne migration of African malaria vectors, and consequently of the pathogens that they transmit. Ten species, including the

SUBMITTER: Huestis DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11095661 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature