Climate Change May Enhance Mosquito Resilience, Complicating Malaria Control
New research highlights the potential for mosquitoes to be more resilient to climate change than previously understood, posing challenges to malaria control efforts. Scientists are now emphasizing the need to test mosquito-based interventions under realistic, fluctuating climatic conditions.
Researchers exposed mosquitoes to controlled variations in temperature and humidity, mirroring meteorological models and climate forecasts – a departure from conventional, stable laboratory environments.Their findings suggest that standard lab conditions may underestimate a mosquito’s ability to adapt to climate stress, potentially allowing them to thrive even as conditions change.
This is notably concerning with the spread of Anopheles stephensi, a species originating in South Asia that is rapidly expanding its range in Africa.this mosquito poses a notable threat to malaria control, especially in urban areas where it coudl fuel more tough-to-manage epidemics. Cities, often warmer than surrounding rural areas due to the “heat island” effect, create favorable breeding grounds.
“it is important to use realistic climatic data in order to better predict malaria’s spread in these changing environments and to prepare for it,” explains Professor Simões. A genetic modification that appears effective in a lab setting – such as, conferring resistance to malaria parasites at a constant 27°C and 75% humidity – may perform very differently under the variable climate of an African city.
To address this, Professor Simões’ laboratory is integrating these realistic climate simulations into the development of genetically modified Anopheles mosquitoes. The goal is to create mosquitoes incapable of transmitting malaria, offering a potential new tool in the fight against the disease. However, the research underscores the critical need to rigorously test these genetic tools under conditions that accurately reflect the real-world climatic challenges they will face in affected countries.