Djibouti releases genetically modified mosquitoes to fight malaria

Tens of thousands of genetically modified (GMO) mosquitoes have been released in Djibouti to halt the spread of an invasive species that carries malaria.

Developed by Oxitec, a UK-based biotechnology company, the friendly, non-biting male Anopheles mosquito carries a gene that kills female offspring before they reach maturity.

Only female mosquitoes bite and transmit malaria and other viral diseases.

This will be the first time such mosquitoes have been released in East Africa and only the second time on the continent.

Similar techniques have been used effectively in Brazil, the Cayman Islands, Panama and India, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to the CDC, more than one billion mosquitoes have been released around the world since 2019.

The first swarms of mosquitoes were released into the open on Thursday in Ambouli, a suburb of Djibouti City.

This is the pilot phase of a partnership between Oxitec, the Djibouti government and the NGO Association Mutualis.

“We've developed superior mosquitoes that don't bite and don't carry disease. And when we release these friendly mosquitoes, they seek out wild-type female mosquitoes and mate with them.” Gray Fransen, head of Oxitec, told the BBC.

Laboratory-produced mosquitoes have a “self-limiting” gene that prevents the female mosquito's offspring from surviving to adulthood when they mate.

Only their male descendants will survive, but they will eventually become extinct, according to the scientists behind the project.

Unlike the sterile male Anopheles colluzzi mosquitoes released in Burkina Faso in 2018, the friendly stephensi mosquitoes can still produce offspring.

The release is part of the Djibouti-Friendly Mosquito Programme, launched two years ago to halt the spread of the Anopheles mosquito, an invasive species of mosquito that was first detected in the country in 2012.

At the time, the country was on the brink of eliminating malaria, recording nearly 30 cases. Since then, the number of malaria cases in the country has risen exponentially, reaching 73,000 by 2020.

The species is also currently found in six African countries: Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria and Ghana.

Native to Asia, the A. stephensi species is extremely difficult to control. It has been dubbed the urban mosquito that has outwitted traditional control methods. It bites at any time of the day and night and is resistant to chemical insecticides.

Djibouti's presidential health adviser, Dr. Abdoulillah Ahmed Abdi, told the Financial Times news site that the government's goal was “to urgently control malaria infections in Djibouti, which have skyrocketed over the past decade.”

“Until a little while ago, [malaria] It was very rare in our community,” said Mutual Association Director Dr. Bou Abdi Khaire.

“We are now witnessing the suffering of malaria patients across Djibouti every day, and new interventions are urgently needed.”

Djibouti is a small country of just over 1 million people, mostly urban, which made it easier to roll out the new anti-malaria project, organizers said.

“Malaria is a serious disease that has a huge impact on our health. People are really waiting to see how this friendly mosquito can help us win the battle against it,” Saada Ismael, a malaria survivor who has taken part in the local preparations, told the BBC.

Genetically modified organisms have always been a controversial subject in Africa, with environmental groups and activists warning about the impact they could have on ecosystems and existing food chains.

But Oxitec's Fransen says that in more than a decade, when developers of biological solutions have released a billion genetically modified mosquitoes, no negative effects on the environment or human health have been recorded.

“Our focus is to ensure that everything we release into the environment is safe and highly effective. There is no impact on the environment. They are non-toxic, non-allergenic. It is gender-specific and species-specific,” he added.

The modified genes are not found in mosquito saliva, and Oxitec says mosquito bites are not affected by the genes.

“This new solution may be controversial, but it is the future,” said Dr. Abdi, presidential health advisor.

If successful, large-scale field trials and eventual operational deployment of the mosquitoes in the country would continue into next year.

Malaria is a deadly disease that kills at least 600,000 people worldwide each year. According to the World Health Organization, nine out of 10 of all deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.