By Andrew Irumba
Entebbe: Whereas mosquitoes, especially the female anopheles, are renowned transmitters of Malaria, scientists in Uganda are breeding  a rare mosquito species that will instead fight the killer disease.
Jonathan Kayondo, an entomologist at the Uganda
Virus Research Centre (UVRC) in Entebbe said that the research will inform a
plan to use genetically modified mosquitoes to wipe out the malaria-causing
breed.
 The intervention will be added to the current methods used in the prevention and control of Malaria, among others, the use of mosquito nets and medicines.
As result of
this new project, the Uganda Government is instituting an Insectarium, where
research on genetically modified mosquitoes will be conducted as a way of
fighting malaria in Africa. The mosquito is designed to quickly spread a
genetic mutation that is lethal to its own species.
There are about 3,000 species of mosquitoes on
planet earth, 800 of which are in Africa. However, only three species cause
Malaria, one amongst them is anopheles mosquito.
Dr. Kayondo noted that the researchers will review
the vector composition abundance and diversity amongst malaria spreading
mosquitoes, the vector biting, resting, mating and breeding behaviour and
insecticides used to kill mosquitoes before coming up with final results to be
used to combat malaria.
The idea is that if these modified mosquitoes are
eventually shown to be safe and effective, they might be released in villages
plagued by malaria across Africa. Scientists hope that they would spread their
mutation and eventually sterilize all the females, thereby crashing or
drastically reducing local populations of the main species of mosquito that
spreads malaria. (https://pawnandjewelry.com)
The research, being carried out by a consortium of several research organizations across Africa will be overseen by the United States Agency for International Development – USAID and UKAID on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Open Philanthropy Foundation. The partners have so far injected USD 25 million (90 billion Shillings) in the project, which is also running in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana.Â
Deborah Malac, the US Ambassador in Uganda said that
the strengthening of Laboratory systems that do research will enable Uganda and
several countries around the world remain prepared to fight against the
ever-increasing emerging health-related disasters.
The global goal is to eradicate Malaria by 2030,
according to the United Nations while the Common Wealth Organization expects to
reduce global malaria infections by half by 2023. Jimmy Opigo, the Director
Malaria Control Programme in Uganda said such targets are constrained by the
physical location of Uganda.
