Scientists appear to have lost their way in the fight against malaria. Dutch malariologist Bart Knols accuses researchers of being more interested in subsidies and getting articles in prestigious journals than in solving the problem. And this, while the mosquitoes are winning the battle.

The mosquito has dozens of diseases and millions of dead on its conscience. Time and time again, it appears to be winning its war against man. Thanks to climate change and modern transport, mosquitoes are now spreading to new regions of the world. Dr Knols warns of the threat of an epidemic against which the population will have no resistance.

He argues that the fight against the malarial mosquito and other dangerous kinds of mosquitoes almost never gets the attention it deserves. An obvious example is the appearance of the Asian tiger mosquito in Europe as a result of the importation of ‘Lucky Bamboo’ plants in little pots of water. Another culprit is the used tyre trade: water remains in the old tyres, providing a perfect habitat for mosquito lavae.

The tiger mosquito is now to be found in Germany, but this could have been prevented by early and decisive action by politicians. But the used tyre trade continues, and measures targeting Lucky Bamboo are a joke.

Dr Knols has for some time been critical of how research funds are distributed. He understands where the mindset of his colleague scientists is coming from:

"For example, you turn a gene on or off in the malarial parasite and then you observe what happens to it: that’s ‘hot science’. Then, you’ll maybe get data that you can publish in Nature or Science. This, in turn, gets you your next research grant. It’s turned malaria research into a kind of industry."

Simple
It has long been known that this sort of high-flying science is not needed to put an end to malaria. The solution is in fact quite simple. When a dangerous type of mosquito appears, the authorities should use every possible measure to combat it. That means an army of thousands spraying little pools with insecticide and whole populations being given medicine.

This sort of approach was shown to work in the early 1900s in Australia and in southern Europe, where malaria became a thing of the past. However, these kind of measures cost huge amounts of money and manpower.

"Now that most of the problem is confined to Africa – 90 percent of all victims come from there – we keep the purse strings closed and say: ‘You should sleep under mosquito nets’. But relying on the population has never worked in the fight against infectious diseases. What is needed is a draconian approach otherwise it won’t work."

In answer to the question of who will win the war in the end, man or mosquito, Dr Knols is definite:

"If we’re not prepared to do everything in our power, including the use of computer technology, GPS systems, four-wheel drive trucks, and lots of money…the mosquito, without a doubt."

RNW translation (mw)