Scientist confronting the rising global threat of mosquitoes

Key Points:

• Anna-Bella Failloux, an entomologist from Tahiti, has dedicated her career to studying mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, motivated by the high rates of elephantiasis on her home island caused by mosquito bites.
• Climate change is expanding the range of mosquitoes, including tiger mosquitoes now found in greater numbers across France, raising concerns about outbreaks of diseases like yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika.
• Failloux leads the Pasteur Institute’s arbovirus and insect vector unit and will head a new research center from 2028 focused on controlling mosquitoes through their microbiota, with significant investment from the institute.
• She emphasizes the importance of public engagement and practical measures, such as eliminating stagnant water in gardens, as essential components in combating mosquito-borne diseases.
• The World Health Organization warns that 80% of the global population is at risk of tropical infectious diseases spread by mosquitoes, which cause over a million deaths annually, mostly among children.