By Winnie Kamau
Kampala, Uganda: Every year on August 20th, World Mosquito Day is observed to raise awareness about the risks of mosquito-borne diseases and the ongoing efforts to combat the world’s deadliest creature
Malaria and dengue are two diseases transmitted by female mosquitoes that can cause severe illness in humans. Due to some similarities between the two diseases and the mosquito species that carry them, patients and medical personnel frequently confuse them.
“Dengue and malaria are two very different diseases caused by different pathogens and different mosquito species,” says Dr. Charles Guissou, co-Principal Investigator for Target Malaria Burkina Faso at the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS).
Adding “Misdiagnosis between malaria and dengue is common and this can then contribute to unappropriate medical care.”
Malaria, a devastating disease, affects 200 million individuals worldwide annually, resulting in approximately 600,000 deaths. Tragically, Africa bears the brunt of this burden, with children and pregnant women being the most vulnerable.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2022, Africa accounted for a staggering 94% of malaria cases (233 million) and 95% (580,000) of malaria fatalities. Children under the age of five accounted for an alarming 78% of all malaria-related deaths.
In recent decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the global occurrence of dengue fever. WHO says the number of reported cases has skyrocketed, rising from 505,430 in 2000 to a staggering 6.5 million in 2023.
“At Target Malaria we are committed to contributing to an Africa free of malaria. We also want to be able to educate as many people as possible about the differences between the Anopheles mosquito, which transmits malaria, and the Aedes mosquito that carries the dengue virus. Malaria and dengue should be distinguished from each other so that adequate preventions and treatments can occur,” says Krystal Birungi, Field Entomology Coordinator for Target Malaria Uganda at the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI)
Some of the noteworthy differences between dengue and malaria are 
“The risk of potential infections is staggering. Approximately 3.9 billion people are at risk of dengue and 3.3 billion people of malaria infections. Innovative, sustainable solutions are needed in the fight against these diseases, especially in Africa. This is why African voices and expertise play a central role in the development and evaluation of these technologies,” adds Birungi.
Target Malaria is pioneering the use of gene drive, a natural genetic mechanism, to spread a genetic modification in malaria mosquitoes that biases the rate of inheritance and affects their ability to reproduce. This innovative approach holds the promise of being a sustainable and cost-effective method to reduce the population of malaria mosquitoes and ultimately halt malaria transmission.
“The risk of potential infections is staggering. Approximately 3.9 billion people are at risk of dengue and 3.3 billion people of malaria infections. Innovative, sustainable solutions are needed in the fight against these diseases, especially in Africa. This is why African voices and expertise play a central role in the development and evaluation of these technologies,” adds Birungi.
Target Malaria is pioneering the use of gene drive, a natural genetic mechanism, to spread a genetic modification in malaria mosquitoes that biases the rate of inheritance and affects their ability to reproduce. This innovative approach holds the promise of being a sustainable and cost-effective method to reduce the population of malaria mosquitoes and ultimately halt malaria transmission.
