Pakistan has been chosen to lead the International Exchange Program Anopheles stephensi Africa – South Asia Familiarisation Programme due to its availability of data and experience.
The Directorate of Malaria Control (DoMC), Ministry of National Health Services, has been chosen for the exchange project, which will include hosting a training and capacity development program for Anopheles stephensi surveillance and control in nine African nations, according to a senior DoMC official.
He went on to explain, “As you know that historically south-Asia and parts of the Middle East, has been endemic to Anopheles stephensi an efficient vector of malaria that has gained notoriety because of its spread to number of African countries since 2013, particularly in Djibouti, Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia and Sudan.”
He added that the most serious threat posed by this range expansion was the mosquito’s ability to thrive in urban environments, indicating a paradigm shift in malaria epidemiology from a primarily rural disease in Africa to potentially infecting millions of city dwellers across Africa.
