Scientists engineer mosquitoes that can't spread malaria
The Hindu
The disease is transmitted between people through a female mosquito after it bites someone infected with the malaria parasite.
Scientists have genetically modified mosquitoes with the ability to slow the growth of malaria-causing parasites in their gut, an advance that can help prevent transmission of the disease to humans.
These engineered mosquitoes produce compounds which impede the growth of malaria-causing parasites, which are then unlikely to reach the mosquitoes’ salivary glands and be passed on in a bite before the insects die.
Researchers from the Institute for Disease Modeling at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation developed a model which can assess the impact of such modifications if used in a variety of African settings.
They found that the modification in question could be effective even where transmission is high.
While the technique, described in a paper published in Science Advances journal. has been shown to dramatically reduce the possibility of malaria spread in a lab setting, if proven safe and effective in real-world settings, it could offer a powerful new tool to help eliminate malaria.
The disease is transmitted between people through a female mosquito after it bites someone infected with the malaria parasite. The parasite then develops into its next stage in the mosquito's gut and travels to its salivary glands, ready to infect the next person the mosquito bites.
However, only around 10 per cent of mosquitoes live long enough for the parasite to develop far enough to be infectious. The team aimed to lengthen the odds even further, by extending the time it takes for the parasite to develop in the gut.