Malaria has been eliminated from a large part of the world. By the mid-twentieth century both North America and Europe were free of the disease, although both had suffered greatly during the prior century [1,2]. While a variety of means were used to achieve this eradication, the most important are thought to be reducing the number of breeding sites for malaria vectors and improving residential … [Read more...]
Priorities in Malaria Research
Malaria remains a challenging prospect for researchers and health workers, but there is encouraging news to report. Malaria research, after many years on the back burner, has risen dramatically up the priority list of donors and policy makers. Much of the credit for this turnaround must go to the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM; http://www.mim.su.se). MIM's achievements in the … [Read more...]
Use of Integrated Malaria Management Reduces Malaria in Kenya
During an entomological survey in preparation for malaria control interventions in Mwea division, the number of malaria cases at the Kimbimbi sub-district hospital was in a steady decline. The underlying factors for this reduction were unknown and needed to be identified before any malaria intervention tools were deployed in the area. We therefore set out to investigate the potential factors … [Read more...]
A Research Agenda for Malaria Eradication: Vector Control
Abstract: Different challenges are presented by the variety of malaria transmission environments present in the world today. In each setting, improved control for reduction of morbidity is a necessary first step towards the long-range goal of malaria eradication and a priority for regions where the disease burden is high. For many geographic areas where transmission rates are low to … [Read more...]
A Research Agenda for Malaria Eradication: Drugs
Abstract: Antimalarial drugs will be essential tools at all stages of malaria elimination along the path towards eradication, including the early control or “attack” phase to drive down transmission and the later stages of maintaining interruption of transmission, preventing reintroduction of malaria, and eliminating the last residual foci of infection.Drugs will continue to be used to treat … [Read more...]
A Research Agenda for Malaria Eradication: Vaccines
Abstract: Vaccines could be a crucial component of efforts to eradicate malaria. Current attempts to develop malaria vaccines are primarily focused on Plasmodium falciparum and are directed towards reducing morbidity and mortality. Continued support for these efforts is essential, but if malaria vaccines are to be used as part of a repertoire of tools for elimination or eradication of malaria, … [Read more...]
Toxic Sugar Bait Can Help Control Mosquitos
An improved knowledge of mosquito life history could strengthen malaria vector control efforts that primarily focus on killing mosquitoes indoors using insecticide treated nets and indoor residual spraying. Natural sugar sources, usually floral nectars of plants, are a primary energy resource for adult mosquitoes but their role in regulating the dynamics of mosquito populations is unclear. To … [Read more...]
Development of Transgenic Fungi That Kill Human Malaria Parasites in Mosquitoes
Abstract: Metarhizium anisopliae infects mosquitoes through the cuticle and proliferates in the hemolymph. To allow M. anisopliae to combat malaria in mosquitoes with advanced malaria infections, we produced recombinant strains expressing molecules that target sporozoites as they travel through the hemolymph to the salivary glands. Eleven days after a Plasmodium-infected … [Read more...]
The Dominant Anopheles Vectors of Human Malaria in Africa, Europe and the Middle East
Full Title The Dominant Anopheles Vectors of Human Malaria in Africa, Europe and the Middle East: Occurrence Data, dDstribution Maps and Bionomic Précis Background This is the second in a series of three articles documenting the geographical distribution of 41 dominant vector species (DVS) of human malaria. The first paper addressed the DVS of the Americas and the third will consider those … [Read more...]
Soil-Transmitted Helminths and Malaria in Pregnant Women on the Thai-Burmese Border
Background: Deworming is recommended by the WHO in girls and pregnant and lactating women to reduce anaemia in areas where hookworm and anaemia are common. There is conflicting evidence on the harm and the benefits of intestinal geohelminth infections on the incidence and severity of malaria, and consequently on the risks and benefits of deworming in malaria affected populations. We examined … [Read more...]