Evidence for a Role of Anopheles Stephensi in the Spread of Drug- and Diagnosis-resistant Malaria in Africa

Overview

Journal Nat Med

Specialties General Medicine
Molecular Biology

Date 2023 Oct 26

PMID 37884028

Authors

Tadele Emiru

Dejene Getachew

Maxwell Murphy

Luigi Sedda

Legesse Alamerie Ejigu

Mikiyas Gebremichael Bulto

Isabel Byrne

Mulugeta Demisse

Melat Abdo

Wakweya Chali

Aaron Elliott

Eric Neubauer Vickers

Andres Aranda-Diaz

Lina Alemayehu

Sinknesh W Behaksera

Gutema Jebessa

Hunduma Dinka

Tizita Tsegaye

Hiwot Teka

Sheleme Chibsa

Peter Mumba

Samuel Girma

Jimee Hwang

Melissa Yoshimizu

Alice Sutcliffe

Hiwot Solomon Taffese

Gudissa Aseffa Bayissa

Sarah Zohdy

Jon Eric Tongren

Chris Drakeley

Bryan Greenhouse

Teun Bousema

Fitsum G Tadesse

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Anopheles stephensi, an Asian malaria vector, continues to expand across Africa. The vector is now firmly established in urban settings in the Horn of Africa. Its presence in areas where malaria resurged suggested a possible role in causing malaria outbreaks. Here, using a prospective case-control design, we investigated the role of An. stephensi in transmission following a malaria outbreak in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia in April-July 2022. Screening contacts of patients with malaria and febrile controls revealed spatial clustering of Plasmodium falciparum infections around patients with malaria in strong association with the presence of An. stephensi in the household vicinity. Plasmodium sporozoites were detected in these mosquitoes. This outbreak involved clonal propagation of parasites with molecular signatures of artemisinin and diagnostic resistance. To our knowledge, this study provides the strongest evidence so far for a role of An. stephensi in driving an urban malaria outbreak in Africa, highlighting the major public health threat posed by this fast-spreading mosquito.

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