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Researchers map malaria parasite P vivax; Nearly 3B people at risk of infection in 2009

A new evidence-based map estimates that in 2009 2.85 billion people lived "at risk of infection" with the malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax, BMJ News reports. As described in a study, published Tuesday in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, P vivax "is more widespread and potentially represents a greater burden on human health in some parts of the world than P falciparum, the species usually associated with the greatest mortality and morbidity," BMJ News writes (Moszynski, 8/3).

5 Aug 2010

African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes

African leaders participating in the 15th African Union Summit, which concluded on Tuesday, agreed to expand a campaign aimed at curbing maternal mortality on the continent and adopted other "key actions" in an effort to reduce infant and maternal mortality, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports.

29 Jul 2010

Dengue fever emerges as major health threat in Gulf coast cities

Several cases of dengue fever, a potentially fatal viral disease transmitted by the bite of urban dwelling Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, have recently been reported in the continental United States. Prevalent in Central America and the Caribbean, dengue fever's most common symptoms include fever, chills, headache, and body aches lasting several days. The disease's more threatening form, dengue hemorrhagic fever, can cause internal bleeding, loss of blood pressure, and death. Over the past five years, outbreaks of both forms of the disease have been reported in Texas and Florida.

28 Jul 2010

Predator-released chemicals function as warning signals for egg-laying mosquitoes

A scientific breakthrough might assist in the fight against mosquitoes. New research carried out at the University of Haifa in collaboration with researchers from other universities has chemically identified, for the first time, compounds released by mosquitoes' natural aquatic predators that function as warning signals for egg laying mosquitoes. Introducing these natural chemicals into mosquito breeding sites will cause the mosquitoes to sense risk of predation to their progeny and avoid laying their eggs there.

22 Jul 2010

Opinions: AIDS vaccine and cure; China's role in the Global Fund; Child marriage prevention act; Gorbachev on safe water

A Globe and Mail editorial discusses the importance of "the quest for an AIDS vaccine and the search for a cure," stating that "it is simply not possible to 'treat' our way out of this disease." The authors write that "for every person who receives treatment - which must continue over their entire lifetime - about three new people become infected."

21 Jul 2010

Natural, needle-free vaccination against malaria

If mice are administered an antibiotic for three days and are simultaneously infected with malaria, no parasites appear in the blood and life-threatening disease is averted. In addition, the animals treated in this manner also develop robust, long-term immunity against subsequent infections. This discovery was made by the team headed by Dr. Steffen Borrmann from the Department of Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg University Hospital in cooperation with Dr. Kai Matuschewski of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin. The scientists think that safe and affordable prophylaxis with antibiotics in residents of areas with high malaria transmission has the potential to be used as a natural "needle-free" vaccination against malaria.

21 Jul 2010

New tactics for repelling, controlling disease-carrying insects

In the battle between insect predators and their prey, chemical signals called kairomones serve as an early-warning system. Pervasively emitted by the predators, the compounds are detected by their prey, and can even trigger adaptations, such a change in body size or armor, that help protect the prey. But as widespread as kairomones are in the insect world, their chemical identity has remained largely unknown. New research by Rockefeller University's Joel E. Cohen and colleagues at the University of Haifa in Israel has identified two compounds emitted by mosquito predators that make the mosquitoes less inclined to lay eggs in pools of water.

17 Jul 2010

Also in Global Health News: WHO reacts to Amnesty's N. Korea report; Universal flu vaccine; Malaria-resistant mosquitoes

The WHO is questioning the validity of the findings of a recent Amnesty International report which highlighted the dire needs of North Korea's health system, "contradict[ing] the rosier picture given by WHO chief Margaret Chan after her April trip there," the Associated Press reports. Although WHO spokesman Paul Garwood "insisted he wasn't criticizing Amnesty's work … he said Thursday's report was anecdotal, with stories dating back to 2001," which "[h]e contrasted … with WHO's science-based approach" (7/16).

17 Jul 2010

Duke University researchers, African colleagues to study malaria control strategies

A team of Duke University researchers and African colleagues will be studying strategies to curb the spread of malaria while protecting human and environmental health. The work in regions where the potentially deadly, mosquito-borne disease occurs will be supported by a $2.2 million, four-year grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

16 Jul 2010

Pennsylvanians should take steps to reduce exposure to mosquitoes, Secretary of Health advises

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reminds Pennsylvanians to take precautions to reduce exposure to mosquitoes as the season arrives for West Nile virus, or WNV, infections.

15 Jul 2010

Researcher to lead $14.5M project to fight malaria in Southeast Asia

A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will lead a seven-year, $14.5 million project to fight malaria in Southeast Asia. Liwang Cui, professor of entomology, is the principal investigator for the Southeast Asia Malaria Research Center, one of 10 International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

14 Jul 2010

Sewage that overflows into urban creeks, streams can promote spread of West Nile virus: Study

Sewage that overflows into urban creeks and streams during periods of heavy rain can promote the spread of West Nile virus, a study led by Emory University finds. The analysis of six years of data showed that people living near creeks with sewage overflows in lower-income neighborhoods of Southeast Atlanta had a seven times higher risk for West Nile virus than the rest of the city.

13 Jul 2010

UC Irvine public health professor to lead malaria field research in Southeast Asia

UC Irvine public health professor Guiyun Yan will lead groundbreaking malaria field research in impoverished reaches of China, Myanmar and Thailand, thanks to new federal funding. UCI will receive $4.7 million of a seven-year, $14.5 million award to Pennsylvania State University by the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases. Yan will collaborate with Penn State principal investigator Liwang Cui.

13 Jul 2010

NIAID names Case Western Reserve University as International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has named Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine as the lead institution of an International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR). The $7.9M seven-year grant will accelerate the control of malaria and help eliminate it worldwide.

13 Jul 2010

Wall Street Journal essay examines historical efforts to control malaria

In a Wall Street Journal essay, Sonia Shah, the author of an upcoming book on malaria, outlines the historical efforts to control malaria - from the Roman Empire through today.

13 Jul 2010

NIAID announces $14M in first-year funding to establish 10 new malaria research centers

In an effort to accelerate the control of malaria and help eliminate it worldwide, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced approximately $14 million in first-year funding to establish 10 new malaria research centers around the world.

9 Jul 2010

UC San Diego professor to establish new Peru/Brazil ICEMR to help control malaria

Tropical disease specialist Joseph Vinetz, MD, of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine will lead an ambitious multi-national effort to help control and eventually conquer malaria, establishing a new Peruvian/Brazilian International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research Center with a seven-year, $9.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

9 Jul 2010

Bacteria that will kill Dengue bearing mosquitoes on the way

Dengue is a deadly viral fever spread by mosquito bites that kills thousands around the world each year. Now researchers from James Cook University and University of Queensland are working on a bacterium called Wolbachia that can stop the spread of this virus.

6 Jul 2010

Greenwire/New York Times examine dengue vaccine development

Greenwire/New York Times reports on the growing number of cases of dengue worldwide, including the CDC's report last month that the virus has now been locally acquired in the continental U.S. for the first time in 65 years. "While a few cases were reported earlier, they were primarily in Americans who had caught the virus abroad or at the Texas-Mexico border," the news service writes.

30 Jun 2010

Marine organisms may hold key to fight malaria

University of Central Florida scientist Debopam Chakrabarti is analyzing more than 2,500 samples from marine organisms collected off deep sea near Florida's coast. Some of them could hold the key to developing drugs to fight malaria, a mosquito-borne illness that kills more than 1 million people worldwide annually.

29 Jun 2010

Mosquito News and Research

Researchers map malaria parasite P vivax; Nearly 3B people at risk of infection in 2009

African leaders agree to expand maternal health campaign as AU Summit concludes

Dengue fever emerges as major health threat in Gulf coast cities

Predator-released chemicals function as warning signals for egg-laying mosquitoes

Opinions: AIDS vaccine and cure; China's role in the Global Fund; Child marriage prevention act; Gorbachev on safe water

Natural, needle-free vaccination against malaria

New tactics for repelling, controlling disease-carrying insects

Also in Global Health News: WHO reacts to Amnesty's N. Korea report; Universal flu vaccine; Malaria-resistant mosquitoes

Duke University researchers, African colleagues to study malaria control strategies

Pennsylvanians should take steps to reduce exposure to mosquitoes, Secretary of Health advises

Researcher to lead $14.5M project to fight malaria in Southeast Asia

Sewage that overflows into urban creeks, streams can promote spread of West Nile virus: Study

UC Irvine public health professor to lead malaria field research in Southeast Asia

NIAID names Case Western Reserve University as International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research

Wall Street Journal essay examines historical efforts to control malaria

NIAID announces $14M in first-year funding to establish 10 new malaria research centers

UC San Diego professor to establish new Peru/Brazil ICEMR to help control malaria

Bacteria that will kill Dengue bearing mosquitoes on the way

Greenwire/New York Times examine dengue vaccine development

Marine organisms may hold key to fight malaria

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Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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