“Malaria mosquito” reappears after 50 years

There is an urgent need to strengthen surveillance in southern Italy to prevent the risk of reintroduction of the disease, according to a study by researchers from Italy’s top health institute, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS).

“The presence of the malaria mosquito is information that needs to be carefully considered. We are monitoring its spread,” explains Pier Luigi Lopalco, professor of hygiene at the University of Salento.

Reemergence due to climate change?
The presence of this species could be a consequence of climate change. “We are certainly not talking about an immediate danger of malaria returning to Italy. But it is a warning that requires serious steps to further improve mosquito surveillance and combat the spread of malaria,” the expert said, according to media sources.

Malaria is a disease caused by single-celled parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Symptoms appear seven, fifteen or more days after the infected insect bites. They vary in nature, but usually consist of often very high fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating and chills. Nowadays, malaria in the tropics and subtropics is mainly transmitted by the bite of a female mosquito of the genus Anopheles.

Malaria occurs in Austria
The disease must be reported in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In the first half of the 20th century, Italy fought hard against the plague of malaria. Many swampy areas were drained to prevent the spread of malaria.