Author Topic: Super mosquito (Read 265 times)

Unorthodox · « **on:** January 13, 2015, 01:56:51 pm »

http://www.sciencerecorder.com/news/new-super-mosquito-emerges-in-africa-that-is-resistant-to-insecticides/

Quote

New ‘super mosquito’ emerges in Africa that is resistant to insecticides
Dan Taylor | Science Recorder | January 13, 2015

Although insecticide-coated bed nets have possibly saved tens of thousands of lives in Mali alone, it has resulted in the evolution of a new “super mosquito.”

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A hybrid mosquito resistant to insecticide used to coat anti-malaria bed nets has emerged in Mali due to interbreeding of two species of mosquito that carry malaria.

Dubbed the “super mosquito,” it was created by humans’ introduction of insecticide into the environment of malaria-carrying mosquitos has altered their evolutionary path, leading to the change, according to research from a team led by Gregory Lanzaro, a professor at the University of California Davis. The findings were published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to Medical News Today.

The introduction of insecticides broke down the”reproductive isolation” that separates the species of malaria-carrying mosquitos, causing rapid evolution of insecticide resistance in a major malaria-producing species, according to Lanzaro.

The super mosquito is a hybrid of Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles coluzzii, two malaira-carrying species that appeared to be different forms of A. gambiae before, but now appear to be separate species.

The hybrid species likely emerged as gene-swapping called “adaptive introgression” happened at the same time as insecticide-coated bed nets began to increase in the area.

Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite and enters the human body from a mosquito bite. It then multiplies in the liver and infects red blood cells. It can disrupt the blood supply to vital organs, which can cause death. It is a major problem in Africa and in other areas with developing economies. It kills hundreds of thousands of people every year — mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa who are less than 5 years old.

Insecticide nets are effective ways to keep the bugs at bay, as well as indoor spraying of insecticides. Lanzaro said such nets have saved possibly tens of thousands of lives in the country of Mali alone.

However, scientists said they were not surprised to find insecticide resistance, which has been growing.