The malaria challenge : after one hundred years of malariology

It is well known that 'in many instances the rice agrosystem perfectly fits the ecological requirements of pathogens or vectors' and in fact 'malaria, schistosomiasis and Japanese encephalitis are important vector-borne diseases associated with rice production in developing countries' (IRRI, 1987). In spite of these fears, rice cultivation has been on the increase in the African region in response to demographic and economic pressures. However, although rice fields provide suitable breeding places for #Anopheles$ mosquitoes and rice cultivation leads to an increase in the biting rates, the species which are adapted to these sites are not the same in all parts of Africa. Several examples illustrate this phenomenon : #An. funestus$ in the rice fields of Madagascar, #An. pharoensis$ in saline water rice fields in the delta of the Senegal river, #An. arabiensis$ in northern Cameroon and Burundi, #An. gambiae$ Mopti form in the Kou Valley (Burkina Faso) and #An. gambiae$ Savanna form in the rice fields of Kafine near Bouaké (Côte d'Ivoire). The vectorial capacities of these species are not the same and malaria inoculation rates are not necessarily increased in the riceland agroecosystem. The consequences for malaria of introducing rice cultivation depend on the situation before its introduction : it could be worsened in unstable malaria areas but not in stable malaria areas. Therefore, sound epidemiological and entomological knowledge are needed before causing any environmental modifications for agricultural purposes and there should be regular monitoring to avoid any outbreak. (Résumé d'auteur