Cuba offers biolarvicide to eradicate mosquitoes

It is the second product NAFDAC has backed this year, according to the agency’s Director-General Dr Paul Orhii, after last week’s tacit approval of a homeopathic drug from scorpion venom used to manage pain in cancer.The biolarvicide, developed by Cuban biotechnology firm Labiofam, contains bacteria that produces spores that can kill off mosquitoes at larval […]

It is the second product NAFDAC has backed this year, according to the agency’s Director-General Dr Paul Orhii, after last week’s tacit approval of a homeopathic drug from scorpion venom used to manage pain in cancer.
The biolarvicide, developed by Cuban biotechnology firm Labiofam, contains bacteria that produces spores that can kill off mosquitoes at larval stage before they turn into adults.
It has been used in pilot projects in Rivers, Lagos and Ogun, where the state governments are attempting to build a biolarvicide plant amidst plans for more effective control of malaria.
But the latest push of the biolarvicide into the Nigerian market comes amidst support from the Cuban government, which held talks with NAFDAC on Thursday.
Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Carlos Trejo Sosa, said Cuba had “excellent political affiliations [with Nigeria] but our people need more.”
“People cannot be fed through just speeches,” he added.
The two biolarvicides Cuba is pushing, after eradicating mosquitoes from its territory, both use bacteria to kill off mosquito larvae, according to Dr Aramis Martinez, vector control consultant for Labiofam, who manages a malaria elimination project in Niger. One product content was isolated in Kaduna in 1967, the other in Israel.
Both target known mosquito species, including anopheles, culex, aedii and black fly when sprayed in mapped areas where mosquitoes breed, he added.
During natural feeding, mosquito larvae ingest the bacteria—along with the toxins they produce. The bacteria binds to the intestine of the mosquitoes, open holes or wounds into which bacteria spores enter, multiply and ultimately kill the mosquitoes. Insects that survive the toxins and grow into adults become unable to reproduce.
“That way the bacteria will be recycling in the breeding site for a long time,” Martinez  explained. “It is environment friendly, and can be even used for drinking water.”
“Larvicides can last 60 days to six months, depending on the chemical characteristics of the water it is sprayed on. We did a programme in Port Harcourt with very good result. With it you can reduce malaria cases by 80%. Reducing the malaria cases means you will also be reducing the money you are spending on drugs and some other interventions.”
He added biolarvicide would only be an addition to Nigeria’s arsenal to eliminate malaria by controlling the vectors that carry the disease, which still commands large chunks of health spending.
Under Millennium Development Goals this year, Nigeria proposes to spend N7.9 billion to procure and distribute insecticide-treated nets to states not covered by any anti-malaria programme at all.
Another N1.45 million could be spent on hangers to hang mosquito nets.
Meanwhile medicines in development for diseases as malaria, sickle cell, diabetes, ebola and lassa fever at Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development could cost up to N50m this year to be put through clinical trials.