Mosquito Modification Minimizes Risk of Malaria

Approximately 50% of people in the world are still in danger from malaria. It infected 241 million and was the cause of death for 627,000 sub-Saharan Africans just last year, a huge proportion of this number being kids under the age of five.

Scientists have developed mosquitoes that inhibit the development of parasites at the root of malaria.

Because of the genetic change, mosquitoes create substances in their intestines that prevent parasites from growing, reducing their chances of entering the salivary glands and being transmitted by a bite.

The method has demonstrated significant success in lowering the likelihood of malaria transmission in a lab environment. However, once it has been cleared to work outside of a controlled setting, it may be instrumental in the eradication of malaria.

As it stands, a relatively small proportion of mosquitos (1/10) survive long enough for the parasite to be able to spread. The scientists tried to reduce this even further by delaying the parasite’s development by several days therefore meaning the mosquito would have to live significantly longer to become a problem, hence reducing the infection rate.

The parasite’s lifetime is also reduced as a result of modifications with their energy metabolism, which lessens their capacity to spread the infection even further.

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