South Africa’s Scientific Fight Against Malaria
- FHS Communications
World Mosquito Day is more than just a date on the calendar
It is a reminder of the ongoing global effort to study and control the public health risks carried by mosquitoes: malaria. Although malaria was a deadly and widespread health threat in South Africa a century ago, this is no longer the case.
However, it was during this period of severe outbreak that the Vector Control Reference Laboratory (VCRL) was established to use science-based interventions to curb the disease. It quickly became the country’s central hub for malaria research, mosquito surveillance and insecticide resistance monitoring. This collaborative effort between the Wits Faculty of Health Sciences and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has played a vital role in shaping South Africa’s national malaria control strategy, significantly advancing the country’s journey toward malaria elimination.
Today, South Africa holds one of the world’s oldest and most successful malaria control programmes, reducing cases by over 99% thanks to the malaria control and operational research conducted by VCRL. “Our goal now is to support the final push toward eliminating malaria from South Africa’s borders,” adds Associate Professor Basil Brooke, researcher at the Wits Research Institute for Malaria (WRIM) and Head of the VCRL.
The consistent and drastic decline of malaria in South Africa over the decades has turned its outlook into a lesser threat to public health. A report on the State of Malaria Elimination Efforts Progress and Challenges in South Africa recorded over 11,600 malaria cases and 56 deaths in 2019, and 3,900 cases and 31 deaths in 2025. This makes the country’s goal to achieve zero local malaria transmission by 2029/30 within reach.
Research conducted at the VCRL developes advanced mosquito traps toefficiently capture them. The research unit assists other malaria control programmes in developing traps that can accurately and efficiently collect mosquitoes. Wits senior researcher, Dr Givemore Munhenga says that this is especially critical in areas in the country with notably low populations. “We focus on operational research, working with provincial teams to address the challenges they face on the ground,” explains Munhenga
The effective study of malaria starts with closely assessing the evolution of mosquitoes – particularly the species responsible for infections. Since the inception of the Medical Entomology Museum in 1925, over 60,000 insect species, including a vast collection of mosquitoes, have been collected. “In South Africa, the primary malaria vectors are from the Anopheles gambiae complex, with the current primary vector species being Anopheles arabiensis” says Ms. Eunice Jamesboy, the curator of the Medical Entomology Museum and a Wits researcher.
The museum preserves specimens to maintain morphological and genetic features over time, a practice that is crucial for accurate species identification and the design of effective mosquito control strategies. “If control strategies target the wrong species due to misidentification, they will not be effective,” she explains. She stresses the importance of historical and current specimens as being invaluable for both research and operational malaria control programmes.
“This ensures that expertise, data, and reference materials on malaria vectors remain accessible for ongoing surveillance,” adds Ms. Jamesboy, pointing that accurate species identification contributes directly to the region’s malaria elimination goals.
The museum is not only a research resources that supplies biodiversity data for ecological and epidemiological studies. It is also used as a teaching and learning space training scientists and students in taxonomy, vector biology, and entomological techniques.