Quora surprised me again with another important question: “What percentage of Mosquitoes in Africa carry Malaria?”.
This question is quite ambiguous and I would tell you why shortly.
Literally, there are hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes existing on the African continent, classified under different species. There are also many things you may never have known about Mosquitoes and Malaria.
Here are some facts about mosquitoes in Africa;
1). Mosquito is an insect-vector common in Africa. All efforts channeled at proper eradication of mosquitoes have been largely impossible.
2). Mosquitoes thrive in a warm humid environment, breeds effectively in dirty stagnant water. One cannot easily imagine Africa without dirty stagnant water bodies, especially in rainy seasons.
3). There are basically 3 seasons in Africa – Rainy Season, Dry Season, Harmattan season.
Mosquitoes flourish the most during the rainy season. The incidence of infections is higher in this season.
4). The female anopheles mosquito is the main culprit that transmits malaria from one person to another. They depend on the blood meal for their reproductive cycle. So, it is an existential problem for mosquitoes (especially the female mosquitoes) if they fail to get a good serving of blood meal.
Now back to the question; –
‘WHAT PERCENTAGE OF MOSQUITOES IN AFRICA CARRY MALARIA?’
I am sure that all female anopheles mosquitoes that desire to lay healthy mosquito eggs must have to get blood from humans, and other mammals. They are the ones that carry malaria and transmit the same from one person to another.
As for the male Anopheles mosquitoes and other species of mosquitoes (including Culex, Aedes, etc), their relevance and significance in the transmission of malaria among the human population can not be relied on.
So you see why the question is ambiguous.
Now, who can tell many female anopheles mosquitoes exists in Africa, among the thousands of species in the continent?
Until we get this figure, it may be outrightly impossible to get a percentage that is truly representative of the fact.
