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Farming Mosquitoes puts Zambia on the World Map
By Given Chikeu, Zambia
Farming mosquitoes has become big business in Zambia, outstripping copper mining which historically has been the country’s economic mainstay. The bug that claims the lives of over one million of the 300 to 500 million people that are bitten each year in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, has unexpectedly changed the lives of the local people in Macha and neighboring chiefdoms of Mapanza, Chikankata and Muchila medically, economically and socially.
"The pay for workers who catch mosquitoes for scientific research is as good as what they can earn from farming the land." -Given Chiekeu
Catching large quantities of these deadly malarial mosquitoes is helping researchers come up with efficacious anti-malarial drugs. Grants obtained from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, the World Health Organization and the US Agency for International Development have produced millions of dollars for this project and local workers are benefiting. In fact, the pay for workers who catch mosquitoes for scientific research is as good as what they can earn from farming the land.
Catching malarial mosquitoes, chiefly the Anopheles arabiensis and funestus types of mosquitoes found in Macha and other parts of Zambia has already reduced the mosquito population 15 fold. Thousands of malarial mosquitoes are caught daily by workers who wear wearing protective clothing. The mosquitoes are then specially packed and sent to research centers like the University of Maryland, Messiah College and the University of Zambia and elsewhere around the world where researchers study the parasite these mosquitoes produce.
Working in conjunction with international medical institutions like Johns Hopkins in the U.S. the Malaria Institute at Macha (MIAM) has become a kind of clearing house for mosquito export. Few Zambians know about MIAM or the cutting edge work its scientists are performing, but world leaders and international medical researchers understand the importance. Bill Gates’ father, William made a point of visiting MIAM on his recent trip to Zambia and on a recent trip to Zambia, U.S. First Lady Laura Bush visited MIAM as part of her tour.
MIAM, which is part of Macha Hospital, has been conducting malaria research since 1989. Formally registered as an independent institute of the Zambian government, MIAM was established with the purpose of carrying out far-reaching research on various aspects of malaria, including drug trials, as well as efforts to control and prevent malaria.
"MIAM offers an ideal environment for malaria research-work, drug trials, malaria treatment and prevention," said Dr. Philip Thuma, the Executive and Administrative Director of Macha Hospital. Thuma is a Johns Hopkins trained, American board certified pediatrician with more than 20 years of experience in Zambia working on the treatment and study of malaria. "So far the research involving drug trials has shown positive results," he said. It is believed that malaria can be completely eradicated in the area as soon as 2015.
