Rare disease drug nitisinone makes human blood deadly to mosquitoes | News | Notre Dame News

Green glowing Anopheles gambiae mosquito on her back staring up at a microscope under a blacklight.
An Anopheles gambiae mosquito that has been fed dye to make her glow. (Provided by
Lee R. Haines)

In the fight against malaria, controlling the mosquito population is crucial.

Several methods are currently used to reduce mosquito numbers and malaria risk. One of these includes the antiparasitic medication ivermectin. When mosquitoes ingest blood containing ivermectin, it shortens the insect’s lifespan and helps decrease the spread of malaria.

However, ivermectin has its own issues. Not only is it environmentally toxic, but also, when it is overused to treat people and animals with worm and parasite infections, resistance to ivermectin becomes a concern.

Now a study in Science Translational Medicine has identified another medication with the potential…

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