Glasgow scientists develop simple test for malaria in mosquitoes

Researchers used infrared light and artificial intelligence to identify the age and species of malaria mosquitoes

A fast and simple way to identify the mosquitoes that cause malaria has been developed by scientists at the University of Glasgow.

It uses infrared technology and artificial intelligence to identify the age and species of malaria mosquitoes.

Only mosquitoes which live to about 10 days can transmit malaria - so knowing the age of a mosquito can help inform the risk of disease.

The researchers said it opens "huge opportunities" for disease response.

Around 40,000 mosquitoes from East and West Africa were used in the study.

By shining infrared light on individual mosquitoes, scientists could identify the chemical changes of the older ones.

The study was led by Glasgow University's Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine and the School of Chemistry.

Around 40,000 mosquitoes from East and West Africa were used in the study.

The university worked with Ifakara Health Instititute in Tanzania and the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé in Burkina Faso.

Doreen Siria, lead author from the Ifakara instititute, said: "Until now, the only way to know the age of a mosquito was via complex dissection to gauge the age of female mosquito ovaries - a process which is expensive, time-consuming and can't be done at scale."

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Dr Francesco Baldini, from the University of Glasgow, added: "We believe this new method is greatly needed in the fight against malaria, a disease which continues to kill many people and children each year.

"With this infrared technology we have developed a tool that has the potential to be scaled up, and would greatly help in testing new products and solutions against diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

"This approach could also be applied to other diseases, and could be used to evaluate the attempts to limit the expansion of invasive mosquito species across Europe and the United States."

In 2020, according to the World Health Organisation there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria worldwide, killing around 627,000 people.