Mosquitoes vs. Humanity

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW119504897 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="none">A recent episode of</span> <em><span data-contrast="auto">The Daily</span></em> <span data-contrast="none">podcast from</span> <em><span data-contrast="none">The New York Times</span></em> <span data-contrast="none">ominously warned, “</span><a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/podcasts/the-daily/mosquitos-malaria.html"><span data-contrast="none">The Mosquitoes Are Winning</span></a><span data-contrast="none">.” Mosquitoes, believe </span><span data-contrast="none">it or not, are mankind’s deadliest predators, carrying disease that result in over</span> <a href= "https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/vector-borne-diseases#:~:text=Malaria%20is%20a%20parasitic%20infection,than%20400%2C000%20deaths%20every%20year."> <span data-contrast="none">219 million infections and over 400,000 deaths every year</span></a><span data-contrast="none">. Even that number is dramatically reduced from previous highs. Highly effective efforts to combat malaria through bed nets, vaccines, and insecticides have reduced global deaths by</span> <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/briefing/the-mosquitoes-are-winning.html"> <span data-contrast="none">more than a third</span></a><span data-contrast= "none">. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">Today, however, the world’s deadliest insect is</span> <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/podcasts/the-daily/mosquitos-malaria.html"> <span data-contrast="none">making a comeback</span></a><span data-contrast="none">. A new breed of mosquito,</span> <a href= "https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-UCN-GMP-2022.06"><em><span data-contrast="none"> Anopheles stephensi</span></em></a> <span data-contrast= "none">known to researchers as “Steve,” has adapted to evade old methods of pest control. Not only does it reproduce year-round and in water as shallow as a bottlecap, but it also lives primarily in c