Scientists infect mosquitoes to fight malaria

In the fight against malaria, scientists have tried everything, ranging from bed nets and vaccines to sprays and even Gene editing.  But now they’ve gone in a completely different direction, they have given mosquitoes a sexually transmitted infection, and no, this is not a punchline, it’s a breakthrough.  

Researchers have genetically engineered the fungus that spreads between mosquitoes during mating and kills them shortly after. This is an exceptionally targeted and lethal weapon, and in early trials, it eliminated nearly 90% of the local mosquito population within weeks. It’s simple, you infected a mosquito once, and then you let nature handle the rest. 

How it works

The fungus in question is Metarhizium. It infects insects, and researchers from the University of Maryland have modified it to make it more effective and selective. 

Here’s what they did:

• They engineered the fungus to produce a toxin only active inside mosquitoes.
• Then, they coated male mosquitoes with its spores.
• When those males mated with females, the spores transferred like an infection.

In the field trials in West Africa, around 90% of infected females died within 2 weeks. By contrast, the natural version of this fungus only killed around 4% in that time frame. 

And because only males were released, and males don’t bite, there’s no direct risk to humans. The fungus does not infect other people, animals, or other insects. It moves in one direction from mosquito to mosquito, then it stops.

Mosquitoes are adapting

Insecticide resistance is spreading across Africa. And malaria parasites are beginning to dodge the frontline drugs.

• In 2023 alone, malaria killed around 600,000 people, mostly children under 5 years old.
• The vaccines were available, but in limited supply. The bed nests help only in areas where people can afford to use them.

That’s why this fungus-based method is gaining traction because it doesn’t rely on people remembering to take pills or sleep on their nuts. 

It doesn’t need spraying, and unlike sterile mosquito programmes, it doesn’t even need constant release; it spreads all on its own. It’s low maintenance with high-impact tools that can make the difference where it counts the most rural areas where malaria kills quietly and consistently.

What could go wrong?

Now, no biotechnology comes without a catch. This fungus is relatively specific to mosquitoes now, but nature will not always stick to those plans. There is a risk, however small, that it can evolve and, in fact, infect other insects, which, in turn, along with the disruption of pollinators, can impact ecosystems.

Then there’s the regulatory question: most countries in Africa do not yet have frameworks for proven tools such as this, so without any solid laws, these trials could move faster than oversight. This raises issues of consent, especially when the technology spreads on its own and cannot be easily controlled.

These are questions that will decide whether this becomes a global tool or just another experimental fix that never scales. 

What’s ahead?

No one is actually expecting this fungus to eliminate malaria all on its own. However, if it can safely reduce mosquito numbers and do so at a lower cost, then it can support existing efforts, such as vaccines and local Health Systems.

The key advantage of this fungus is its self-spread because once it infects a few males, the fungus will spread through the entire mosquito population with minimal intervention. 

This is what makes it promising for rural areas where logistics are tough and funding is thin, but there is a long road that has but this is a proven method, albeit slowly and steadily, from lab to real life, one mating mosquito at a time.