AND’ malaria alarm in Italy? There malaria mosquito, the Anopheles sacharovi, has been found in our country. To be precise, in Puglia where a specimen was found. An investigation by researchers from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata is currently underway. Is there anything to worry about? The situation.
Malaria in Italy: the Anopheles mosquito traced in Puglia
In Pugliato be precise in the town of Leccea specimen of the Anopheles mosquito was found, so to speak malaria-carrying mosquito, the disease caused by parasitic protozoa belonging to the Plasmodium genus. Mosquitoes of the Anopheles genus are capable of transmitting the malaria virus, the last report of which dates back to the late 1960s. There is nothing to worry about at the moment nor to create alarmism, even if a targeted investigation is underway which sees the cooperation of researchers from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Puglia and Basilicata.
The researchers are engaged in a long search in the area where the specimen was found and on the adults who may have come into contact with it. Data in hand, the researchers communicated that: «of 11 sites investigated, 6 were positive due to the presence of Anopheles. All 20 Years. maculipennis sl (7 adults, 10 larvae and 3 pupae) collected in the areas were identified as An. sacharovi by ITS-2 sequencing”.
The data collected by researchers confirms how in southern areas there is a increased receptivity to the virus of malaria given the presence of possible new specimens that escaped research. The experts point out: «the risk of introduction of Plasmodium by gametocyte carriers among travelers coming from endemic countries should be taken into greater consideration».
Malaria, no alarm in Italy
The Anopheles mosquitoes there are more than 400 species, including 60 are carriers and capable of transmitting the malaria virus. In Africa, malaria has always been an endemic disease, while in the rest of the world its transmission and spread is linked to those who travel around the world. According to experts it is important to proceed with some anophelis surveillance operationsi.e. the presence of mosquitoes belonging to the Anopheles class and as such carriers of the disease.
What is the risk for Italy? It was to reassure everyone Paolo Gabrieliprofessor of Zoology at the State University of Milan, who specified: «le Current conditions do not justify immediate alarm. There are Anopheles mosquitoes that carry the infection, but they are too few to support the transmission cycle of the disease. But if they were to happen conditions conducive to an explosion in the population of these insects, then certainly we should ask the question.” Not only did Paolo Gabrieli invite us to keep our guard up and keep an eye on what is happening in Puglia: «it is It is essential to continue to follow the behavior of these insects and control their proliferation” also considering ongoing climate change.
