Scientists hope to reduce the number of people affected by malaria by making mosquitoes resistant to the malaria parasite, reports BBC news.
Malaria parasites are transferred to humans through mosquitoes. In order to combat that problem, scientists are attempting to find a solution that works at the root of this illness - mosquitoes. Researchers have come across a bacterium, which makes it difficult for malaria parasite to survive. Using this, they hope to make mosquitoes immune to malaria parasites, which will automatically decrease the number of people infected with the illness.
Malaria is a major cause of deaths worldwide. According to The World Health Organization, 220 million people are infected with the illness annually, of which 660,000 die.
Researchers from the Michigan State University in the U.S. studied the Wolbachia bacterium, which is passed only from female insects to their offspring. Malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquitoes lack the presence of this bacterium and scientists found that temporary injection of it in mosquitoes make them immune to the malaria parasite. Scientists now face the challenge of passing on the temporary injection to other mosquitoes.
Research in Australia previously found that a different strain of Wolbachia could prevent the spread of dengue and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the U.S. said that this study proves that the same mechanism can be used to check the spread of malaria.
"If you can get it to survive and proliferate in the environment of mosquitoes in malaria-stricken areas, this could conceivably have an important impact on the control of malaria," he said. "I think the potential for this is very important. The implementation will be the challenge."
He added that if scientists prove that this method can work, "the Wolbachia tool can complement currently available tools", such as mosquito nets and medication.
