Will man ever win the fight against mosquitoes?

In the 21st century human intelligence has led to the creation of artificial intelligence taking the world of science amp technology leaps and bounds ahead Moreover when the world came to a screeching halt after the spread of coronavirus man displayed the epitome of medical science and we returned to a near normal lifeHowever at the same time man continues fighting a hard battle with a tiny creature called lsquomosquitorsquo The nuisance and disease spreading fly has proven that it is a step ahead of humancreated mitigation efforts to kill it permanentlyExperts are hopeful that with the rising challenges world will innovate its combat strategies against mosquitoesWorldrsquos deadliest animalEvolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micro predators while medical parasitologists view mosquitoes as disease vectors The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls mosquitoes the ldquoworldrsquos deadliest animalrdquo as the insect transmits six deadly diseases to humans namely Malaria Dengue Zika Chikungunya Yellow Fever and West Nile Virus WNVAs per Communicable Disease Centre CDC data in 2021 619000 people died from malaria alone and over 247 million became ill across 84 countries Nearly 32 billion people of the worldrsquos population are at risk of this preventable disease Dengue outbreaks are common in many countries around the world including the Americas Africa the Middle East Asia and the Pacific IslandsAlso Read BMC to complete two years without elected reps how is Mumbai running under admin ruleThe largest WNV outbreak in the United States occurred in 2021 in Arizona sickening 1715 people and leaving 125 dead highlighting that the most developed nation too is unable to eradicate this tiny but lifethreatening species In 2023 20 years after the US thought it had eradicated malaria eight malaria patients were detected in Florida and TexasHowever the fact remains that mosquitoborne diseases especially dengue fever and malaria typically affect developing countries and areas with tropical climates In the last two decades there has been a geographic spread of the diseaseExperts attribute it to rapid population growth increased congestion in urban areas and global travel The dengue virus has evolved rapidly over time posing challenges to both government and public health officialsThe expensive fightWorldwide from 1970 to 2017 it has been estimated that the invasive species cost the global economy more than 128 trillion USD in damage and efforts to control its spread The cost of introduction of newer mitigation efforts technology medications and preventive care has been doubling but the spread of mosquitoes is worsening tooIn India too the disease spreading fly has created a socioeconomic burden As per World Health Organisation WHO 2017 data the socioeconomic burden for India due to malaria alone was pegged at around 194 billion USD Rs 11640 crore with 95 per cent of the population living in malariaendemic areas The rising dengue cases account for over 1 billion USD nearly Rs 6000 crore of annual economic costs including direct and indirect loss and medical costsldquoToday millions of lives are still lost due to malaria and the mosquitoes that spread it But since 2000 global partnerships have saved more than 106 million lives from malaria toordquo said research by Outreach Network for Gene Drive In September 2022 global leaders met under leadership of the US President Joe Biden the panel agreed that constant innovation and more aggressive methods are needed to stay ahead of mosquitoesApart from this environmental change is another major reason the man is falling behind in the fight against mosquitoes The World Economic Forumrsquos WEF Annual Meeting of January 2023 had major observations that urbanisation and climate change are helping to spread mosquitoborne diseases four billion people are at risk from Dengue Fever today and that could double by the end of the century and that innovation collaboration and providing equitable access are essential to prevent and combat mosquitoborne diseasesClimate Change and Urbanisation rise mosquitoes breeding sitesldquoWhile we work to mitigate the growing impact of drought rising sea levels and extreme weather we cannot lose sight of the underestimated consequence of the warming planet the spread of debilitating and potentially deadly mosquitoborne diseasesrdquo the WEF 2023 observedDengue Fever Malaria Zika West Nile and Chikungunya until recently primarily existed in warmer climates with higher levels of mosquito populations Mosquitos being coldblooded like all insects thrive in warmer weather As global warming leads to rising air and water temperatures and more rainfall and flooding more environments are becoming suitable for mosquitos to multiplyrdquo says the WEF reportA 2020 study by the US National Institute of Health concluded that for every one degree Celsius the planet warms Dengue Fever cases will increase by 35 per centHow can tropical countries like India tackle the mosquito menaceMosquito control is a vital public health practice throughout the world especially in tropical regions The government and public health officials are always on foot combating multiplying mosquito breeding sites especially in developing and populated countriesApart from being the most populated country India is one of the countries with maximum infrastructural projects underway With added factors like topography climate change and lack of public knowledge of preventive measures India is one of the hotspots for mosquitoborne diseasesIn 2022 the National Centre for VectorBorne Disease Control NCVBDC was established to address the challenges including finance and operations and enhance the efforts in preventing and controlling vectorborne diseases including malaria and dengueEvery municipal corporation has sanitisation departments and health officers to track disease control programs Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai MCGM which runs Mumbai the economic capital of India holds a major stake in implementing combat measures against mosquitoborne diseasesDr Daksha Shah Executive Health Officer also the head of the sanitisation department of MCGM said that the fight against mosquitoes is difficult but we have not lost itEvery year the civic bodies have funds allotted for mosquito control programs and a channel of preventive measures to be taken to tackle the mosquito menaceShah said ldquoIt is true with increased urbanisation construction works slum population and weather change eradicating mosquito breeding sites is difficult But with years of efforts the number of people affected with mosquitoborne diseases has decreased drastically in MumbairdquoldquoFrom around 75000 dengue cases in 2002 to around 7000 cases in 2023 the city has come a long wayrdquo the officer said However public awareness and community engagement play a key roleNuisance continuesThe dengue cases are highest during the monsoon season from July to October when mosquito breeding is most prevalentBut the mosquito menace persists around the year as the nondisease spreading mosquitoes known as nuisance mosquitoes continue hampering the wellbeing of a person by buzzing all aroundWith the world India too remains steadfast in its fight against mosquitoes