Up to 10,000 genetically modified mosquitoes will be released in Burkina Faso, Africa, as part of a study that aims to eradicate malaria.

Andrea Crisanti, Professor of molecular parasitology at Imperial College London, explains how this possible alternative solution would wipe out malaria carrying mosquitoes through blocking female reproduction in the species.

There are around 3,500 species of mosquito world-wide, of which only 40 can carry malaria.

In 2016, there were around 216 million malaria cases and an estimated 445,000 deaths world-wide, mostly of children under five years old.