Authors: Tadele Emiru, Dejene Getachew, Maxwell Murphy, Luigi Sedda, Legesse Alamerie Ejigu, Mikiyas Gebremichael Bulto, Isabel Byrne, Mulugeta Demisse, Melat Abdo, Wakweya Chali, Aaron Elliott, Eric Neubauer Vickers, Andrés Aranda-Díaz, Lina Alemayehu, Sinknesh W. Behaksera, Gutema Jebessa, Hunduma Dinka, Tizita Tsegaye, Hiwot Teka, Sheleme Chibsa, Peter Mumba, Samuel Girma, Jimee Hwang, Melissa Yoshimizu, Alice Sutcliffe, Hiwot Solomon Taffese, Gudissa Aseffa Bayissa, Sarah Zohdy, Jon Eric Tongren, Chris Drakeley, Bryan Greenhouse, Teun Bousema, Fitsum G. Tadesse
Published: 2023-10-26
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02641-9
Source: Full article
AbstractAnopheles stephensi, an Asian malaria vector, continues to expand across Africa. The vector is now firmly established in urban settings in the Horn of Africa. Its presence in areas where malaria resurged suggested a possible role in causing malaria outbreaks. Here, using a prospective case–control design, we investigated the role of An. stephensi in transmission following a malaria outbreak in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia in April–July 2022. Screening contacts of patients with malaria and febrile controls revealed spatial clustering of Plasmodium falciparum infections around patients with malaria in strong association with the presence of An. stephensi in the household vicinity. Plasmodium sporozoites were detected in these mosquitoes. This outbreak involved clonal propagation of parasites with molecular signatures of artemisinin and diagnostic resistance. To our knowledge, this study provides the strongest evidence so far for a role of An. stephensi in driving an urban malaria outbreak in Africa, highlighting the major public health threat posed by this fast-spreading mosquito.