Review of Anopheles Mosquitoes and Malaria in Ancient and Modern Egypt

This article reviews and discusses the status of Anopheles mosquitoes and malaria in ancient and modern Egypt based on the available and scattered reports. Eleven Anopheles species are present in Egypt of which An. pharoensis and An. sergentii are the proven vectors. The two vectors with their chara­cteristics of zoophilic tendency, low infectivity rates and relatively short longevity convey the unstable type of malaria prevailed in Egypt. The immunologic tests on the Egyptian mummies confirmed the high prevalence of P. falciparum malaria in ancient Egypt. Malaria was endemic in almost all parts of the country but prevalence has shown a steady decrease by 1990, and regressed in most of the Governorates. Then by the end of 1998 till now all reportedcases areimported mainly from Sudan. However, some locally acquired cases were reported in El Faiyoum and Cairo. Moreover, the recent outbreak of falciparum (1 case) and vivax (23 cases) that occurred (May 2014) in Aswan Governorate strongly indicates that malaria is reemerging in the country.