A biopolitics of mosquitoes

Abstract

This article seeks to explore the biopolitical history of the management of mosquito vectors of yellow fever and malaria. For this we will follow some lines of research that emerged after reading Amitav Ghosh's novel The Calcutta Chromosome. The novel recontextualizes the context of the discovery of the role of mosquitoes in malaria transmission, revealing the links between tropical medicine and colonial power. In the first instance, we will review the link between the colonial plantation system and the ecological, economic, political and population transformations that allowed the tropics to become epidemic zones of yellow fever and malaria. Subsequently, we will analyze the biopolitical strategies for vector control and eradication used by international health organizations throughout the 20th century, especially in Latin America. Finally, we will study the contemporary biotechnological mechanisms that seek to eliminate vector mosquitoes through genetic intervention.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5894942

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