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Urban malaria

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 22, page 1 (2024)Cite this article

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Malaria infection is contracted through the bite of female anopheles mosquitoes that carry Plasmodium species. Africa carries the major disease burden, but malaria is becoming an increasing concern in urban settings. Urban malaria is imported from areas with high transmissions, but other factors, including the emergence of urban malaria vectors such as the Asian malaria vector Anopheles stephensi, have been implicated in urban malaria. The geographical spread of An. stephensi is expanding, and it is now present across the Horn of Africa and well adapted to urban environments. The presence of An. stephensi in regions where malaria resurged suggests a role in malaria transmission.

In this study, Emiru et al. investigated the possible role of An. stephensi in a dry-season increase in malaria cases in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, in April–July 2022. They found spatial overlap between malaria infection and the presence of An. stephensi. They also detected sporozoites in adult mosquitoes, which is indicative of transmission following blood feeding. Finally, the authors reported that the outbreak involved the clonal propagation of parasites that carry markers of diagnostic and artemisinin resistance.

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  1. Nature Reviews Microbiology http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/

    Andrea Du Toit

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  1. Andrea Du Toit
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Correspondence to Andrea Du Toit.

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Du Toit, A. Urban malaria. Nat Rev Microbiol 22, 1 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00994-z

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