Inside the labs on the frontline in the battle against one of the world’s deadliest diseases – as it reaches Europe
A SWARM of blood-sucking mosquitoes encircle me, buzzing around my face.
I’m perched on a bed in a tin-roofed shed and the only barrier to the outside world is a mozzie net filled with holes.
I’m at the Ifakara Health Institute, in rural Tanzania, Africa, nestled among towering palms.
Here, British and African scientists work in converted shipping containers on the front line in the battle against deadly malaria.
Deaths from the infection have been rising. There were 620,000 victims in 2022, up from 560,000 a decade ago — most of them African children under five, according to the World Health Organisation.
After years of progress, with global deaths down from 1.8million in 2004, warmer temperatures, war and Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have fuelled a resurgence of the disease.
The WHO says 249 million cases were reported globally in 2022, up from 233 million in 2019.
Europe was declared malaria-free by the WHO in 2015, but now its threat is edging closer again.
‘Smile hides heartbreak’
Malaria-carrying mosquitoes have reached southern Europe, and medical cases of affected holidaymakers coming into Britain are at their highest level in more than 20 years, with 2,106 cases in 2023.
Symptoms are flu-like, but severe cases can be fatal.
People who haven’t been regularly exposed to malaria, like those in Europe, don’t have the same immunity as those in Africa
Dr Dickson Wilson Lwetoijera, principal research scientist at the institute, tells Sun Health their work could have far-reaching consequences for the whole world.
He says: “With global travel and population movement, there’s every chance the disease could spread to new regions — if that happens in Europe, the consequences could be serious.
“People who haven’t been regularly exposed to malaria, like those in Europe, don’t have the same immunity as those in Africa who have lived with the disease for some time, so the risk of severe illness or death is much higher.”
In Tanzania, it’s as prevalent as the common cold, but that doesn’t erase the devastation this disease has brought to families.
In a dusty neighbourhood in Dar es Salaam, a few hours from Ifakara, I meet Jamima Charles Abel.
She welcomes me into her home — a tiny space along a narrow, muddy street shared by several families. Her smile hides the heartbreak her family has endured.
Her son Eric Daniel Richard, 24, “loved people”, Jamima tells me. He was a hard worker at a local business, supporting his family despite having moved out.
One day last December, he developed flu-like symptoms. Within 24 hours, he was gone.
Jamima, 44, is terrified for her other two children. Just last month, her 17-year-old son caught malaria but has since recovered.
The infection is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes.
Male mosquitoes don’t bite and are therefore harmless. When an infected mosquito bites a person, the parasite enters the bloodstream and infiltrates red blood cells.
Genetically engineered mosquitoes
The Plasmodium parasite is adept at evading the immune system. It means a vaccine, which seems like the simplest option, is far from straightforward.
So scientists are working on other cutting-edge solutions.
A team from Imperial College London, in partnership with a team at Ifakara, has genetically engineered mosquitoes resistant to the malaria parasite.
It’s hoped these mozzies will be released into the wild within eight years, dominating and repopulating areas within a few months.
“This is the first malaria-fighting technology that doesn’t rely on human behaviour,” Dr Lwetoijera explains. “With our current tools, like bed nets and insecticides, the biggest challenge is compliance.
“People have to use them consistently for them to work, which isn’t always possible.” Funding is one of the biggest challenges scientists face.
And a huge blow came earlier this year when Donald Trump made abrupt cuts to foreign aid, and Keir Starmer announced plans to slash the overseas aid budget to its lowest level in a generation.
Dr Sarah Moore, who has worked at Ifakara for 20 years, says: “Every day, the equivalent of four jumbo jets full of children die of malaria in Africa.
“If aid continues to fall as predicted, it could rise to five. Because it’s Africa, no one cares.”
Among other developments, drones are being used to find and dismantle mosquito breeding grounds in Dar es Salaam, such as stagnant water pools, leafy foliage and shaded areas.
Taking our foot off the gas could lead to a surge, including in new places not ready to fight back
At dusk, when mosquitoes begin to stir, experts knock on the doors of locals to set up traps.
Mwanabibi Kharifa Mohamed, a grandmother and mother of four, is one local taking part.
As Alex Limwagu, a research scientist, sets mosquito traps in the garden, Mwanabibi tells me her children have caught the disease more times than she can count — the family can’t afford nets — but it never quells her panic.
“I rush straight to the hospital because I know in two minutes they could die,” she says.
Since the mosquito team arrived this year, Mwanabibi has learned more about protecting her family.
“I used to be ignorant,” she says. “But Alex taught me how mosquitoes breed and how to protect my children. If malaria disappeared, life would be peaceful.”
The WHO wants to reduce global malaria by 90 per cent by 2030.
It believes the ambitious target is “achievable” — but not without the dedicated scientists on the ground and the funds to keep them going.
Victoria Fowler, head of UK advocacy at the charity Malaria No More UK, says: “Taking our foot off the gas could lead to a surge, including in new places not ready to fight back.
We need the Government to back the Global Fund to Fight Malaria at the Spending Review this month.
“Standing behind our scientists is crucial to get back on track to beat this killer, saving hundreds of thousands of children’s lives and protecting the British public.”