Nigerians have been alerted on the emergence of new strains of urban malaria vector, Anopheles Stephensi, that is resistant to many of the insecticides used in public health, posing an added challenge to the control of malaria and putting urban population at risk.
Dr. Damian Nwaneri, Acting Director and Associate Professor of Child Health, Institute of Child Health, University of Benin, disclosed this during a seminar to mark the 2023 World Malaria Day in Benin City.
Nwaneri, who is also Consultant Pediatrician, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Child Health, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, said there is an urgent need for modalities to be put in place to tackle environmental sanitation to control malaria, especially with the invasion by vectors that are adapted to breeding in urban environments, such as the recent spread of Anopheles Stephensi in the World Health Organization (WHO) African region.
“The Anopheles Stephensi is a native of South Asia and parts of the Arabian Peninsula and it has been expanding its range over the past decade with detections reported in Djibouti (2012), Ethiopia and the Sudan (2016), Somalia (2019) and Nigeria (2020),” Nwaneri said.
He said the invasion in sub-Saharan Africa, where the burden of malaria is highest and over 40 percent of the population lives in urban environments, has raised concern because it is thought to have driven the resurgence of malaria in Djibouti city and to be the source of at least one outbreak in Ethiopia.
“In September 2022, a new initiative was launched aimed at stopping the further spread of Anopheles Stephensi on the African continent and to determine whether it can be eliminated from areas that have already been invaded. The initiative calls for the national response to be part of a comprehensive response to malaria vectors by enhancing collaboration, increasing surveillance, improving information exchange, developing guidance and prioritizing research,” he noted.
While commending the Edo State government’s effort in malaria control, Dr. Nwaneri disclosed that a research revealed that in Egor Local Government Area, malaria prevalence came down and in the state generally there is a downward trend compared to other parts of the country.
He said if urbanization is not properly planned, the mosquitoes can cause epidemic by the year 2050, adding that there must be laboratory tests before commencing treatment instead of treating irrationally.
Prof. Lilian Salami, Vice Chancellor, University of Benin, who was the chairman and chief host of the seminar, commended the Institute of Child Health for organizing the seminar to create awareness on malaria.
Prof Salami, who was represented by the DVC Admin, Prof Catherine Ukpomwan, said the seminar, themed “Time to Deliver Zero Malaria: Invest, Innovate, Implement’, was aimed at highlighting current malaria epidemiology, some innovations in malaria preventive measures especially the new malaria vaccine (RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine known as Mosquirix) approved for use in Nigeria recently which is believed to be the game changer in elimination and annihilation of malaria.
“I thank the Institute for the great job and use this medium to reassure them that the work on the permanent structure of the Institute has been approved and the contractor has been mobilized to go to site. This feat is long overdue and we thank God that it is becoming a reality. I thank the Chief Medical Director, UBTH, Prof D. Obaseki, for his unalloyed support to the Institute and to the special guest of honour, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Edo State, Prof. Obehi Akoria, for the good works on the healthcare system in Edo State,” she added.
The Edo State Commissioner for Health, who was represented by Dr. Osagie Igbinigie, also stressed on the importance of drawing attention to these diseases that are killing people especially children.
