Fighting Mosquito Menace with Repellents and Vaccines
Context:
The book Mosquitopia: The Place of Pests in a Healthy World states that there are over 3,500 species of mosquitoes in every continent except Antarctica.
Mosquito-Borne Diseases Prevalence:
- India contributes more than 12% of the world’s mosquito population.
- Key Species in India: 63 species identified, with Anopheles being the most prominent.
- High Prevalence Areas: Odisha, West Bengal, Northeastern states
- Urban Areas: Increased mosquito population in Pune, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata due to heavy rains and poor water management.
- Historical Note: In 1902, Sir Ronald Ross received the Nobel Prize for demonstrating that malaria is transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.
- Diseases Spread by Mosquitoes: Malaria, Dengue, Filaria, Japanese Encephalitis, Chikungunya.
- Control Measures: Drugs, vaccines, and effective management of mosquito breeding sites.
- Common Breeding Sites: Stagnant water in agricultural fields, plant pots, gutters, bird baths, tires, and trash containers.
- Prevention: Regular cleaning of these sites to reduce mosquito breeding.
Mosquito Repellents and Control Methods: Vaccine Development: Mosquirix: 
Overview of Malaria:
- A life-threatening disease transmitted to humans by certain mosquitoes, primarily in tropical regions. More than 90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa, and nearly all of the people who die are young children.
- Cause: Infection caused by Plasmodium parasites, spread through mosquito bites. It is not spread from person to person.
- Symptoms Occur within 10–15 days of a mosquito bite.
- High-Risk Groups: Infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women, travellers, people with HIV/AIDS.
- Malaria Treatment: Key antimalarial drugs include:
- Artemisinin-based combination therapies (artemether and artesunate) for Plasmodium falciparum, as well as atovaquone, chloroquine (where not resistant), doxycycline, mefloquine, quinine, and primaquine. Artemisinin-based therapies are preferred due to their efficacy, especially against resistant strains.
- Primary Vector: Infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- Antimalarial Drug Resistance Issue: Emerging resistance to artemisinin in the Greater Mekong subregion and parts of Africa.
- Certified Malaria-Free Countries: Includes Maldives, Sri Lanka, China, among others.
- The Government has launched the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) 2016-2030 to achieve zero indigenous cases of Malaria in the country by 2027 and to sustain elimination by 2030.
- World Malaria Day: April 15, to emphasise the need for sustained investment and political commitment in malaria prevention and control.
How Climate Change Amplifies Mosquito-Borne Diseases:
- Extended Mosquito Season: Climate change lengthens the mosquito season.
- Extreme Weather Patterns: Severe weather events such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves create favourable breeding conditions for mosquitoes.
- Indirect Effects: In response to drought, water storage can increase mosquito breeding sites.
- Geographical Spread: Diseases like malaria, dengue, and Japanese encephalitis are expanding to new regions, including Europe and Southern Australia, due to shifting climatic conditions.
- Research Findings: Studies project that by 2080, global temperature rises could extend disease transmission seasons significantly, affecting billions more people.
- Disease Transmission Capacity: climate change has increased the reproductive number (R0) of mosquito-borne diseases.
