Djibouti became the first nation in East Africa, and the second on the continent, to release genetically engineered mosquitoes in the continuing fight against malaria.
It was the pilot release of “Friendly” Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes arranged through a public-private partnership between the government and Oxitec, a United States-owned developer of biological solutions to control pests that cause disease. Oxitec is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
The effort is aimed at curbing the invasive mosquito, which is responsible for a dramatic increase in malaria in Djibouti’s capital city, from near-eradication in 2012 to more than 73,000 cases in 2020.
Tens of thousands of the genetically modified male mosquitoes were released in Djibouti in an effort to stop the spread of an invasive species that transmits malaria. They carry a gene that kills female offspring before they reach maturity, the BBC reported. Only female mosquitoes bite and transmit malaria and other diseases.
“We have built good mosquitoes that do not bite, that do not transmit disease,” Oxitec head Grey Frandsen told the BBC. “And when we release these friendly mosquitoes, they seek out and mate with wild type female mosquitoes.”
Invasive Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes originated in Asia and are known as urban mosquitoes. They are difficult to control because they bite day and night and are resistant to insecticides, the BBC reported. They also have been found in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan.
“Our government’s objective is to urgently reverse malaria transmission in Djibouti, which has spiked over the last decade,” Col. Dr. Abdoulilah Ahmed Abdi, health advisor to the president of Djibouti, said in an Oxitec news release. “Today’s launch is a significant national milestone, but what’s even more exciting is the potential the solution has for the region and entire African continent.”
The program is a partnership between Djibouti’s National Malaria Control Program, the public health not-for-profit Association Mutualis and Oxitec.