Anopheles

Malaria

Mathematics

Altitude (triangle)

Biology

Recombinant DNA

Gene

Geography

Vector (molecular biology)

Immunology

Blood meal

Biochemistry

Geometry

Ecology

Mosquito control

Nature

Over the past two decades efforts to control malaria have halved the number of cases globally, yet burdens remain high in much of Africa and the elimination of malaria has not been achieved even in areas where extreme reductions have been sustained, such as South Africa1,2. Studies seeking to understand the paradoxical persistence of malaria in areas in which surface water is absent for 3–8&nbsp;months of the year have suggested that some species of Anopheles mosquito use long-distance migration3. Here we confirm this hypothesis through aerial sampling of mosquitoes at 40–290&nbsp;m above ground level and provide—to our knowledge—the first evidence of windborne migration of African malaria vectors, and consequently of the pathogens that they transmit. Ten species, including the primary malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii, were identified among 235&nbsp;anopheline mosquitoes that were captured&nbsp;during 617&nbsp;nocturnal aerial collections in the Sahel of Mali. Notably, females accounted for more than 80% of ...

Windborne long-distance migration of malaria mosquitoes in the Sahel