Government of Djibouti and Oxitec Announce Importation of Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes
Government of Djibouti and Oxitec Announce Importation of Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes
Today the Government of Djibouti’s National Malaria Program and Oxitec announced the importation of self-limiting Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes into dedicated, contained laboratories in Djibouti City.
The Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi mosquito solution is designed to combat the growing threat to the region posed by the rapidly spreading urban malaria vector.
The invasive Anopheles stephensi has caused massive increases in urban malaria in Djibouti’s capital city over the past decade, and it is spreading rapidly across Africa. The Djibouti Friendly™ Mosquito Program is a ground-breaking public-private partnership formed to advance a Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi solution into Djibouti and ultimately across the African continent.
This is a significant milestone as the program partners – Oxitec, the Djibouti Government’s National Malaria Control Program, and the public health non-for-profit Association Mutualis – prepare for the first field pilots of the solution in the coming year.
Oxford, UK - Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock, today announced the importation of its Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes into dedicated laboratories in Djibouti. This milestone marks a significant step forward for the Djibouti™ Friendly Mosquito Program – a partnership between the Government of Djibouti and its National Malaria Program, the not-for-profit Association Mutualis and Oxitec – as it prepares to carry out government- and community-led releases in 2024.
The invasive Anopheles stephensi mosquito was first detected in Djibouti in 2012 and has fuelled an unprecedented increase in malaria incidence in Djibouti’s capital city and surrounding communities. Where national annual malaria cases previously numbered in their hundreds, public health authorities are now reporting many tens of thousands of cases. Native to Asia, Anopheles stephensi is highly capable of colonising dense, urban locations, unlike many other malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. In Djibouti, where 70% of people live in the capital city, this urban invasion has exposed most of the country’s population to a very new and deadly threat.
In response to this devastating surge, and at the invitation of the Government of Djibouti, the Djibouti Friendly™ Mosquito Program was formed to advance a new, sustainable Oxitec solution for this growing urban malaria threat. To do so, the partners formed an expert team comprising mosquito biologists, malaria experts, public health officials, local community leaders, and regional experts to design and guide the program. The program has carried out more than two years of mosquito surveillance in malaria-affected communities, alongside extensive public engagement, expert workshops and stakeholder consultations, with inputs from national, regional and international experts.
Oxitec developed the Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi in its research hub in Oxfordshire, UK, where it has the world’s most advanced laboratories for developing safe, sustainable biological solutions to control disease-spreading mosquitoes. Now, with approvals from the Government of Djibouti, eggs and larvae of the Friendly™ mosquito strain have been imported into specialized, contained facilities in Djibouti City. This is an important step towards early pilot studies in host communities with the Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi mosquito to demonstrate its safety and function. This ground-breaking program in Djibouti will lay a strong foundation for expanding access to the Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi to other countries across the African continent.
The Friendly™ mosquito technology is already proven against the dengue fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. In 2022, Oxitec launched its Friendly™ Aedes aegypti product in Brazil, where it is now serving households, communities and businesses nationwide.
Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec, said, “a public health crisis of this magnitude warrants big, bold efforts, new collaborations, and new technologies, which is why we’re honoured that the Government of Djibouti selected us to be its partner to address this public health threat. Oxitec’s experts and its Friendly™ technology platform are uniquely suited to develop a safe, sustainable solution to control this mosquito, built on years of experience developing and deploying other Oxitec solutions at scale, and we’re working around the clock to do so with both the government and our non-profit partner Mutualis. Our plans for the remainder of 2024 include government and community-led field pilots with the Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi male mosquitoes, which do not bite and cannot transmit disease. This is yet another example of how climate change is changing the nature of public health threats, and why there is no time to lose in developing new solutions to combat them.”
Samatar Kayad Guelleh, PhD, head of Djibouti’s National Malaria Program, commented, “Our government’s objective is to return to low- or pre-elimination malaria levels before 2030. At national level, the Ministry of Health is implementing conventional interventions, including malaria diagnosis, disease treatment, prevention through the distribution of mosquito nets and management of larval breeding sites. Resistance of the vector and the parasite to current vector control tools and antimalarials are, however, slowing progress.”
“The Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi solution is designed to tackle the problem at source, combating the vector and counteracting resistance to insecticides. In advancing this solution, our partnership is working closely with communities, with a focus on serving them through future impact on urban malaria.”
Bouh Abdi Khaireh, MD, PhD, Director of Association Mutualis, said, “Anopheles stephensi is responsible for many thousands of Malaria cases in Djibouti over the last few years. This importation of Friendly™ Anopheles stephensi into our dedicated entomology facilities in Djibouti City marks a major milestone in this program and in the Government of Djibouti’s efforts to protect its citizens and to serve as a regional and international beacon for leadership in solving climate change-related public health threats with new technologies. We are excited to be pioneering this innovative vector control solution against this invasive vector species in partnership with Oxitec and Mutualis, and we hope that our experience in Djibouti will pave the way for impact in other African countries, too.”
Oxitec will continue to share updates as the program progresses throughout 2024. More information about the work of the project thus far can be found in a recent video produced here.
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Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners. Learn more at oxitec.com.
