There is no malaria alarm in Italy, the Higher Institute of Health (ISS) and infectious disease specialists are quick to make clear. But the discovery in the Lecce countryside of Anopheles sacharovi mosquitowhich conveys it better than any other, arouses some anxiety.
«Malaria has not been endemic in our country since the 1950s and another type of anopheles, the labranchiae, has always been circulating in our country, capable of transmitting it although less efficiently», explains Massimo Andreoni, scientific director of Simit, the scientific society of infectious disease specialists. Who recalls that «to transmit the disease it is necessary for the mosquitoes to also carry the parasite which is not present in Italy at the moment. But it is it is good to intensify checks because with the hot season upon us there is a risk of greater spread of the vector and with more frequent travel it cannot be ruled out that a carrier may also be stung. In this case – says Andreoni – there is a risk of having indigenous cases in addition to the hundreds that we already import today. If this were to occur it will be necessary to raise the alert level. But for now it is enough to continue with the control activity, analyzing the types of mosquito widespread in the area.”
The arrival of tourists
What is certain is that with the summer season upon us and the boom in tourists, including foreigners, who are expected to disembark at Brindisi airport, monitoring already annoying insects will need to be intensified.
After all, it is precisely this control activity that last year made it possible to identify the mosquito most at risk of spreading the disease. “A single adult specimen – specifies in a note the Higher Institute of Health – which then started a targeted entomological investigation”.
The discovery of Anopheles sacharovi for the ISS «is relevant from a scientific and health point of view because, after the reclamation works and the anti-malarial campaign of the second after war, this mosquito was now considered to have disappeared from our territory. On the other hand – adds the Institute – it appears clear that entomological surveillance is of extreme importance and is necessary to prevent the risk of reintroduction of this disease into our country”.
Having said this, the ISS experts, who contributed to the discovery together with the Apulian Zooprophylactic Institute, «the discovery of an Anopheles sacharovi mosquito should not cause alarm for a possible return of malaria in Italy as socio-economic and hygienic-sanitary conditions of our country are very different from those of the past.” So no alarms but eyes open yes.
