Researchers at the Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands and the Armauer Hansen Institute of Ethiopia say: Larvae of the Anopheles stephensi mosquito – the main vector for malaria transmission across Africa, are present in many countries on the continent.
This mosquito only appeared in a few places in Africa a few years ago. But they are “very much present” in water containers in Ethiopian cities.
Most African mosquitoes that can transmit malaria breed in rural areas. However, experts have feared this particular mosquito has adapted to urban environments, including cities in Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti.
Malaria, transmitted by the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes, is a preventable and treatable disease, but in 2019 alone, 409,000 people died from the disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Africa region is home to 94% of all malaria deaths in 2019.