Tag Archives: malaria

Scientists have developed a radical new strategy for eradicating malaria, which remains a global health threat despite prevention and control activities. Distorting the sex ratio of Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malaria vectors, to heavily favor males, which do not bite humans or transmit the disease, effectively eliminated mosquito populations in the lab. Lab Anim.ContinueContinue reading “Wiping out malaria by wiping out mosquitoes”

Malaria is transmitted among humans by mosquitoes carrying sporozoite forms of protozoan Plasmodium species. The sporozoites reproduce abundantly in the liver of an infected person, creating tens of thousands of merozoites in a structure called a schizont, which later ruptures, releasing the parasites into the bloodstream. Some parasites develop into gametocytes that, when ingested byContinueContinue reading “A new twist in targeting malaria parasites”

Malaria infects as many half a billion people every year and kills between 1 and 3 million people annually, many of them children living in sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by Plasmodium spp. protozoans transmitted between humans and mosquitoes via the blood. When a mosquito consumes infected human blood, its immune system attacks Plasmodium andContinueContinue reading “How mosquitoes fight malaria”

Toxoplasmosis may be the most common parasitic infection worldwide, affecting more than two billion people. Existing treatments have serious side effects, can cause hypersensitivity in some patients and are ineffective during some of the parasite’s life stages. There is no preventative vaccine. New treatments for toxoplasmosis are desperately needed. Now it seems that need mayContinueContinue reading “Killing two parasites with one drug”