Dem don release tens of thousands of genetically modified (GMO) mosquitoes for Djibouti as part of effort to stop di spread of one invasive species of mosquito wey dey transmit malaria.
Na one UK-based biotechnology company, Oxitec, develop dis friendly male Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes wey no dey bite.
Na di first time dem dey release such mosquitoes for East Africa and di second time for di continent.
Di US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tok say similar technology bin don dey successful for Brazil, di Cayman Islands, Panama, and India.
Dem also tok say ova one billion of GMO mosquitoes don dey released around di world since 2019.
Dem release di first batch of di mosquitoes into di open air on Thursday for Ambouli, a suburb of Djibouti city.
Dis na di pilot phase for di partnership between Oxitec Ltd, Djibouti goment and one NGO wey im name na Association Mutualis.
How dis mosquitoes dey work
Dis mosquitoe wey dem produce for inside laboratory get “self-limiting” gene.
Wen e mate wit a female mosquito, di male offspring go survive but di female ones no go survive reach adulthood.
Even di male pikin dem wey survive go eventually die out, according to the scientists wey dey behind di project.
“We build good mosquitoes wey no dey bite and no dey transmit disease. And as we release dis friendly mosquitoes, dem go dey look for and mate wit di wild type female mosquitoes,” Oxitec oga, Grey Frandsen tell BBC.
Di mosquitoes – Anopheles stephensi – dey deifferent from di Anopheles colluzzi mosquitoes wey dem bin release for Burkina Faso in 2018, dat one dey sterile and di main aim dat time no be to impact malaria but to study how GMO mosquitoes go fit interact wit di normal ones.
Di Djibouti Friendly Mosquito Program bin start two years ago to stop di spread of Anopheles stephensi, an invasive species of mosquito wey dem first detect for di country in 2012.
At dat time, di country bin don almost eliminate malaria but dem come record close to 30 malaria cases. Since den, malaria cases don rise reach 73,000 by 2020.
Dis mosquito specie now dey present for six oda kontris in Africa: Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria and Ghana.
Di Stephensi species, also called urban mosquito, na originally from Asia and e dey very difficult to control. E dey bite both for day and night time and e dey resistant to chemical insecticides.
“Not long ago, malaria dey extremely rare for our communities, but now we dey see malaria patients suffer on a daily basis across Djibouti. Urgent need dey for new interventions,” Dr Bouh Abdi Khaireh, wey be oga for Association Mutualis.
Di organizers tok say e dey easy to roll out di new anti-malaria project due to Djibouti’s small size; di country get just over a million people.
“Malaria na serious disease wey dey really affect our health. People dey really wait to see how dis friendly mosquitoes go help us win di fight,” Saada Ismael, a malaria survivor wey took part for di community preparation, tell BBC.
GMO na one big controversial subject for Africa, and environmental groups and campaigners don warn say e go get consequences to ecosystems and existing food chains.
But oga Frandsen from Oxitec tok say dem neva document any adverse effects on environmental or human health for ova 10 years, and within dat time di developer don release about one billion modified mosquitoes.
“Our focus na to ensure say whatever we dey release for di environment dey safe, and highly effective. E no get any environmental impact. Dem no dey toxic and dem no dey allergenic,” e tok.
Di genetically modified genes no dey for di mosquito saliva and according to Oxitec, even if e bite person, di person no go dey exposed to di effects of di genes.
“Dis new solution fit dey controversial but na di future,” presidential health adviser Dr Abdoulilah Ahmed Abdi tok.
If e dey successful, dem go continue wit larger field trials and eventual operational deployment of di mosquitoes until next year for di country.
Malaria na deadly disease wey dey kill at least 600,000 pipo everi year globally. Nine in 10 of all di death dey occur for sub-Saharan Africa, according to di World Health Organization.
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