By Benjamin Adamafio Commey, GNA
Accra, May 29, GNA – Professor Yaw Asare Afrane, a Medical Entomologist at the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, has called for the reintroduction of strict environmental sanitation enforcement to help curb mosquito-borne diseases in the country.
He urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to intensify sanitation inspections and ensure that stagnant water, choked drains, discarded tyres, cans and other mosquito breeding grounds around homes were eliminated.
Prof. Afrane made the call when he delivered an inaugural lecture at the University of Ghana on Thursday, on the topic: “Fighting the Bite: Human Activities and the Changing Landscape of Mosquito-Borne Diseases in Africa.”
He said mosquitoes responsible for transmitting diseases such as malaria, dengue fever and lymphatic filariasis were largely breeding within human settlements due to poor sanitation practices and unplanned urban development.
“The mosquitoes that are breeding around us and biting us every day are not coming from the forest. They are bred within our own areas, around our homes, and sometimes within the house itself,” Prof Afrane warned.
Human activities such as poor waste disposal, indiscriminate dumping of old vehicle tyres, blocked drainage systems, uncontrolled urban farming and deforestation were creating conducive breeding conditions for mosquitoes.
He noted that many mosquito species bred in stagnant water collected in puddles, trenches, drainage ditches, water containers and discarded household items.
Prof Afrane recalled that in the past, local authorities enforced sanitation regulations through environmental health officers, popularly known in some communities as “Town Council,” who inspected homes and sanctioned residents who failed to maintain clean surroundings.
“If we could bring this back, that would be wonderful, to get rid of mosquitoes that are being bred in our homes,” he said.
The Professor explained that mosquitoes transmitted several diseases, with malaria remaining the most common in Ghana.
According to the World Health Organisation 2025 report, 5.3 million Ghanaians were diagnosed with malaria in 2024.
The figure excludes unreported cases treated outside hospitals.
Prof Afrane, who has played a critical role in Ghana’s National Malaria Elimination Programme, said malaria continued to pose a major public health threat globally, with an estimated 70 deaths occurring every hour worldwide.
He also highlighted other mosquito-borne diseases, including lymphatic filariasis, which normally caused elephantiasis, dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya, Rift Valley fever and West Nile virus.
Prof Afrane explained that lymphatic filariasis was caused by a parasite known scientifically as Wuchereria bancrofti, which is transmitted through mosquito bites and could lead to severe swelling of limbs.
He commended Ghana’s Neglected Tropical Diseases Programme for reducing endemic districts from 118 to only eight through sustained interventions.
The entomologist, who has spent more than two decades researching mosquitoes and malaria transmission across Africa, said environmental changes and climate conditions significantly influenced mosquito populations and disease spread.
Drawing from his doctoral research in the highlands of Western Kenya, he said deforestation and swamp reclamation increased temperatures and created breeding habitats for mosquitoes in previously colder regions where malaria transmission had been low.
The destruction of forests resulted in approximately two degrees Celsius increase in local temperatures, which was sufficient to enhance mosquito survival and malaria transmission.
Prof Afrane also noted that mosquitoes in Ghana were increasingly developing resistance to insecticides used in treated bed nets, aerosol sprays and agricultural pesticides.
That he attributed to the overuse of insecticides in farming and household mosquito control, warning that such activity was enabling mosquitoes to develop genetic mutations and enzymes that neutralised the chemicals intended to kill them.
“…when you spray your room, you may think the mosquitoes are dead, but some only get knocked down and later recover to bite again,” he explained.
He also warned about the emergence of invasive mosquito species in Ghana, including Anopheles stephensi, originally from Asia, and Aedes albopictus, a species associated with dengue transmission.
He said mosquitoes were also capable of travelling long distances through wind currents and international trade routes, increasing the risk of spreading diseases across countries.
Despite the challenges, Prof Afrane said there was hope in the fight against mosquito-borne diseases through improved environmental management, scientific innovation and stronger public health interventions.
He mentioned emerging mosquito control strategies such as spatial repellents, which repel mosquitoes from homes, and drugs that make human blood toxic to mosquitoes after biting, as well as sterilising male mosquitoes to prevent reproduction and reduce mosquito populations over time.
He called for greater collaboration between urban planners, environmental health officers, researchers and communities to address the root causes of mosquito breeding, adding that fighting mosquito-borne diseases required collective responsibility and sustained public education to encourage communities to maintain clean environments.
“It is we humans who have created opportunities through our activities for mosquitoes to breed around us, to bite us and to cause disease. And if we reverse all these practices, then we can eliminate mosquito-borne diseases around us,” he said.
The Professor also called for the training of more experts in entomology and vector control to strengthen Ghana’s capacity to combat mosquito-borne diseases.
Chairing the lecture, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, said mosquito-borne diseases were not simply natural occurrences but were influenced by urban farming, mining, deforestation, environmental pollution and poor drainage systems.
She urged the public to support scientific research and take personal responsibility for maintaining clean environments, adding that mosquito control should not be left to scientists and government agencies alone.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Benjamin Adamafio Commey