It’s World Mosquito Day - here’s what you need to know.

A quick history lesson.

On the 20th of August 1897, Sir Ronald Ross made a groundbreaking discovery – the parasite that carries malaria, p.falciparum, used mosquitos as a vector to spread themselves from creature to creature. Insects had often been on the suspect list, but the disease had been named for something else: bad air, or mala-aria in old Italian. 

This discovery was a significant historical event for a whole host of reasons – not least because the disease has been around for yonks and may have even contributed to the fall of the Roman empire (it was often called Roman fever) – but more than anything it gave a sense of relief. By the time the 20th of August swung around 124 years ago, the malaria parasite (which has been around for well over 50,000 years!) had already been a thorn in the side of humankind, and in the next 100 years would go on to, “claim between 150 million and 300 million lives, [and] account for 2 to 5 percent of all deaths.”

Sir Ross’ discovery meant that the future had some hope, and that efforts to prevent mosquito-borne diseases like malaria could actually target the disease. At some point in the following years, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine commemorated the day, and World Mosquito Day has been kept on the calendar ever since to mark an important win in an ongoing fight against preventable diseases. Sir Ross was so pleased about it all, in fact, that he wrote a poem about his historic discovery.

This day relenting God |
Hath placed within my hand |
A wondrous thing; and God |
Be praised. At His command, |
Seeking His secret deeds |
With tears and toiling breath, |
I find thy cunning seeds, |
O million-murdering Death. |
I know this little thing |
A myriad men will save. |
O Death, where is thy sting? |
Thy victory, O Grave?
-Sir Ronald Ross

So, how far have we come in the fight against the million-murdering Death?

A long way, to be sure, but still not far enough. Even in 2021, close to half of the world’s entire population are at risk of catching a mosquito-borne disease. The unlucky few are better described as the unlucky many, with over 700 million people falling ill to one of the many preventable diseases that mosquitos carry around: malaria, dengue fever, and zika virus to name just a handful. Malaria alone leads to the deaths of 400,000 people each year, with most deaths occurring in, “children under the age of 5 years”.

Put in another way: 1 child dies from malaria every 2 minutes.

As if that isn’t perspective enough, 1 in every 12 child deaths each year from any cause (any cause!) is due to malaria.

Tackling a problem as big as mosquito-borne disease is not a simple one, but like any other problem the most important step is recognising that there is a problem and investigating a cause.

The world 124 years on from Sir Ronald’s discovery has a whole host of ways to tackle the dastardly mosquito: from indoor-residual sprays and insecticide-treated bednets, to preventive medications and vaccines. The future is promising for a sustainable solution to an age-old problem. More recently, scientists have sought to turn the tables, infecting mosquitos that would otherwise infect humans with a bacteria that makes them unable to pass on diseases.

There is more reason than ever before to hope that we can end malaria in our lifetime. And if we get it right, the generations to come will be able to sleep peacefully in the knowledge that no one will wake up with malaria.