(ORDO NEWS) — Since the end of the 19th century, Anopheles mosquitoes, carriers of malaria and other serious diseases, have moved five thousand kilometers further from the equator.
Thanks to global warming, every year their range increases by 4.7 kilometers, endangering an increasing number of people.
Malaria remains one of the most widespread and dangerous infectious diseases in the world. Every year, hundreds of millions of people fall ill with it, and hundreds of thousands die.
There is no effective vaccine against malaria, so special attention is being paid to the main carriers of this infection in Africa – tropical mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles.
There are even projects to develop GM lines in which malaria pathogens do not survive.
Until such solutions are found, scientists monitor mosquito populations in order to take the necessary measures in advance.
This topic is the subject of a new work by biologists from the American Georgetown University.
The conclusions of Colin Carlson and his co-authors are not very comforting: in recent years, the range of Anopheles has been expanding more and more rapidly, and malaria vectors have appeared farther from the equator.
Scientists have noted that today the average annual temperature on Earth is about 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than in the pre-industrial era.
At the same time, global warming is developing faster and faster, and, accordingly, the distribution area of ​​mosquitoes in Africa is changing.
An analysis carried out in 2011 showed that during the year the range expands towards the poles by 1.7 meters, and also rises 1.1 meters closer to the tops of the mountains.
The new data points to a much faster advance.
Carlson and colleagues studied archival and recent distribution data for 22 Anopheles species from 1898 to 2016.
It turned out that during this time, mosquitoes moved 500 kilometers closer to the South Pole and mastered heights 700 meters higher.
This corresponds to an expansion at a speed of 4.7 kilometers per year away from the equator and 6.5 meters in height – many times faster than previous estimates.
For now, Anopheles ‘ capriciousness remains one of the important factors holding back the spread of malaria (and other diseases they carry).
These mosquitoes need a strictly defined temperature and humidity, so they are rarely found outside of Tropical Africa.
However, recent trends may change the situation. Warmer weather expands the range of mosquitoes and prolongs the time of year during which they remain active.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.