CARTA Newsletter (July-Dec 2017) CARTA NEWSLETTER July Dec 2017 | Página 4

Scientific
breakthrough
Study by CARTA fellow
critical in malaria research
By Eunice Kilonzo, CARTA communications
officer
Nearly nine in every 10 new malaria infections
in rural Tanzania are transmitted by the
Anopheles funestus mosquito. This is despite
its smaller population in comparison to other
mosquito species, a new study by a CARTA
fellow shows.
highest levels of endemnicity across sub-
Saharan Africa are facing massive shortages
in their ability to prevent and respond to the
disease. How to manage disease burden and
reduce mortality from malaria were major
questions confronting heads of state and
government at the January summit of African
Union leaders.
Anopheles funestus is responsible for 82-95%
of local malaria infections. Unfortunately,
the vector is also resistant to pyrethroids
(insecticide) used on bednets. It survives
unexpectedly longer, has a highly cryptic
Paper Title:
Interventions that effectively target
Anopheles funestus mosquitoes
could significantly improve control
of persistent malaria transmission in
south–eastern Tanzania
Emmanuel Kaindoa, Cohort Five fellow from
the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), demonstrated
that while different mosquito species
(Anopheles arabiensis) dominate in numbers,
a far more competent vector (Anopheles
funestus) now transmits most of the residual
malaria parasites, despite occurring in far
smaller numbers. aquatic ecology, and bites people both
indoors and outdoors.
These research findings are critical as
globally, one child dies from malaria every
two minutes, according to the World Health
Organization, even as the countries with the Monthly mosquito sampling was carried out
between January 2015 and January 2016,
in randomly selected households in three
villages using Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) light traps and back-pack
aspirators. The sampling was conducted four
years after the last mass distribution of long-
lasting insecticidal bednets (LLINs).
In rural southeastern Tanzania, where malaria
prevalence has reduced by more than 60%
since 2000, low-to-moderate transmission
still persists despite very high coverage with
LLINs. Like in most residual transmission
settings within East Africa, populations of the
formerly notorious malaria vector (known
as, Anopheles gambiae), have significantly
diminished or completely vanished.
As a direct impact of the findings, Ifakara
Health Institute has initiated two major
research initiatives funded by the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the
director of science at IHI, Dr. Fredros Okumu.
The scientific breakthrough will facilitate
the development of new approaches that
specifically target the mosquito species,
with the aim of drastically reducing residual
transmission.
More about the Research Paper
Authors: Emmanuel W. Kaindoa , Nancy S.
Matowo, Halfan S. Ngowo, Gustav Mkandawile,
Arnold Mmbando, Marcelina Finda, Fredros O.
Okumu
Published: May 18, 2017
How talking about mosquitoes opened me up to potential collaborations in the US
By Emmanuel Kaindoa
CARTA Cohort Five fellow from University of the Witwatersrand, South
Africa.
I was excited about my trip to the American Society of Tropical Medicine
and Hygiene (ASTMH) meeting in Baltimore, United States in November
2017. This was a great opportunity to meet fellow researchers and
experienced scientists in global health. I was not disappo