BARI – The malaria mosquito ‘Anopheles sacharovi’ found in Puglia after 50 years. It is the result of a study by the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata published on ‘PubMed’. “The discovery has a strong health relevance and impact, highlighting an increase in the receptivity of the southern areas of the country,” the authors write. In September 2022 a single specimen of Anopheles maculipennis was collected in the municipality of Lecce and molecularly identified as Anophelse sacharovi. This survey led to the implementation of a targeted entomological survey in September 2023.
“Every year cases of imported malaria are reported in European countries, the risk of introduction of malaria plasmodium by gametocyte carriers among travelers from endemic countries should be taken into greater consideration – warn the authors – Our results allow us to rethink and build new models for the prediction and expansion of malaria. Furthermore, to prevent the risk of reintroduction of the disease, the need to strengthen the surveillance of residual anopheism throughout the South must be considered”.
The investigations were conducted focusing on animal farms, riding stables and potential mosquito breeding sites. Once captured they were subjected to the qPcr test.
LOPALCO: NO ALARMS
“The presence of mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus, i.e. those capable of transmitting malaria, is information to be taken into proper consideration. The circulation of mosquitoes is monitored for this reason. So, no alarmism.” Thus, at Adnkronos Salute, Pier Luigi Lopalco, professor of Hygiene at the University of Salento, comments on the study which accounts for the discovery of the ‘Anopheles sacharovi’ mosquito in Puglia, after 50 years of absence.
In any case, for Lopalco, it is “another sign of concern about the changes that the climate and the modifications of the environment are causing. We are certainly not talking about an immediate risk of bringing malaria back to Italy. But it is a warning that requires to take serious measures to further improve mosquito surveillance and reduce their circulation”.
