Malaria

Mosquitoes carrying malaria are evolving more quickly than insecticides can kill them – researchers pinpoint how

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The fight against infectious disease is a race against evolution. Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. Viruses adapt to spread more quickly. Diseases transmitted by insects present another evolutionary front: Insects themselves can evolve resistance to the poisons that people use to kill them. In particular, the mosquito-borne disease malaria kills over 600,000 people annually. Since … Read more

A New Challenge in Malaria Control

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The fight against infectious disease is a race against evolution. Bacteria become . Viruses . Diseases transmitted by insects present another evolutionary front: Insects themselves can evolve resistance to the poisons that people use to kill them. In particular, the mosquito-borne disease malaria . , people have battled malaria with insecticides — chemical weapons intended to kill Anopheles mosquitoes infected with … Read more

Mechanisms of PfDNMT2 inhibition and PfATP6-mediated resistance to the antimalarial candidate SC83288 in Plasmodium falciparum

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World Health Organization. World Malaria Report 2024 (WHO, 2024). World Health Organization. Guidelines for the Treatment of Malaria (WHO Press, 2015). Ward, K. E., Fidock, D. A. & Bridgford, J. L. Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapies. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 69, 102193 (2022). Google Scholar  Wicht, K. J., Mok, S. & Fidock, D. A. … Read more

Drogheda named mosquito hotspot in new Ireland health alert

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A scientific review found there are at least 21 species of mosquitoes present in Ireland. A townscape view of Drogheda, Co Louth (file photo) Irish mosquitoes can theoretically carry malaria – but advanced health systems means they almost never pick up the disease from an infected human. Drogheda has been identified as a key hotspot … Read more

Non-native birds drive widespread avian malaria transmission in Hawaii

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New research on avian malaria, which has decimated Hawaii’s beloved birds, explains how non-native birds play a key role in transmission and contribute to the widespread distribution of the disease. This disease threatens many native species that are integral to Hawaii’s identity and its unique and fragile ecosystems. Avian malaria, caused by a microscopic parasite … Read more

DNA marker reveals pyrethroid resistance in malaria mosquitoes

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A new study, jointly led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID) in Cameroon, has detected a DNA marker in a gene encoding for a key enzyme, known as cytochrome P450, that helps mosquitoes to break down and survive exposure to pyrethroids, the main insecticides used for … Read more

New malaria vaccines helped Ghana slash child deaths. Then Trump and others cut aid.

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LONDON/ACCRA – New vaccines are helping Ghana approach a long-sought goal of ending child deaths from malaria, demonstrating the potential of the shots to drive back a disease that kills nearly half a million young children every year in Africa, according to the international vaccine aid group Gavi and the country’s health service. But aid … Read more

Climate change could drive up malaria deaths and costs in Africa by 2050

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Climate change could cause more than 500,000 additional malaria deaths in Africa by 2050 Extreme weather could generate over 100 million new cases in 25 years under current emissions paths Floods and cyclones, not temperature shifts, account for most of the projected increase Climate change could lead to more than 500,000 … Read more

Climatic and governance determinants of malaria transmission in Rivers State, Nigeria

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Moxon, C. A., Gibbins, M. P., McGuinness, D., Milner, D. A. & Marti, M. New insights into malaria pathogenesis. Annu. Rev. Pathol. 15, 315–343 (2020). Google Scholar  Sato, S. Plasmodium—A brief introduction to the parasites causing human malaria and their basic biology. J. Physiol. Anthropol. 40 (1), 1–13 (2021). Google Scholar  White, N. J. Plasmodium … Read more

US funding freeze halts malaria prevention and genomic research

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The “catastrophic” freeze on US funding for malaria has halted prevention programmes across Africa and also threatens to stall advances in genomic research, says Jane Carlton, director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. The US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) is one of numerous USAID-supported programmes to see its funding terminated under US President Donald Trump’s sweeping reforms this … Read more