Windborne long-distance migration of malaria mosquitoes in the Sahel

Diana L. Huestis, Adama Dao, Moussa Diallo, Zana L. Sanogo, Djibril Samake, Alpha S. Yaro, Yossi Ousman, Yvonne-Marie Linton, Asha Krishna, Laura Veru, Benjamin J. Krajacich, Roy Faiman, Jenna Florio, Jason W. Chapman, Don R. Reynolds, David Weetman, Reed Mitchell, Martin J. Donnelly, Elijah Talamas, Lourdes Chamorro, Ehud Strobach and Tovi Lehmann ()
Additional contact information
Diana L. Huestis: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH
Adama Dao: University of Bamako
Moussa Diallo: University of Bamako
Zana L. Sanogo: University of Bamako
Djibril Samake: University of Bamako
Alpha S. Yaro: University of Bamako
Yossi Ousman: University of Bamako
Yvonne-Marie Linton: Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center
Asha Krishna: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH
Laura Veru: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH
Benjamin J. Krajacich: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH
Roy Faiman: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH
Jenna Florio: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH
Jason W. Chapman: University of Exeter
Don R. Reynolds: University of Greenwich
David Weetman: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Reed Mitchell: Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center
Martin J. Donnelly: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Elijah Talamas: Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
Lourdes Chamorro: National Museum of Natural History
Ehud Strobach: University of Maryland
Tovi Lehmann: Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, NIAID, NIH

Nature, 2019, vol. 574, issue 7778, 404-408

Abstract: Abstract Over the past two decades efforts to control malaria have halved the number of cases globally, yet burdens remain high in much of Africa and the elimination of malaria has not been achieved even in areas where extreme reductions have been sustained, such as South Africa1,2. Studies seeking to understand the paradoxical persistence of malaria in areas in which surface water is absent for 3–8 months of the year have suggested that some species of Anopheles mosquito use long-distance migration3. Here we confirm this hypothesis through aerial sampling of mosquitoes at 40–290 m above ground level and provide—to our knowledge—the first evidence of windborne migration of African malaria vectors, and consequently of the pathogens that they transmit. Ten species, including the primary malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii, were identified among 235 anopheline mosquitoes that were captured during 617 nocturnal aerial collections in the Sahel of Mali. Notably, females accounted for more than 80% of all of the mosquitoes that we collected. Of these, 90% had taken a blood meal before their migration, which implies that pathogens are probably transported over long distances by migrating females. The likelihood of capturing Anopheles species increased with altitude (the height of the sampling panel above ground level) and during the wet seasons, but variation between years and localities was minimal. Simulated trajectories of mosquito flights indicated that there would be mean nightly displacements of up to 300 km for 9-h flight durations. Annually, the estimated numbers of mosquitoes at altitude that cross a 100-km line perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction included 81,000 Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto, 6 million A. coluzzii and 44 million Anopheles squamosus. These results provide compelling evidence that millions of malaria vectors that have previously fed on blood frequently migrate over hundreds of kilometres, and thus almost certainly spread malaria over these distances. The successful elimination of malaria may therefore depend on whether the sources of migrant vectors can be identified and controlled.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1622-4

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