Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite called Plasmodium. When infected mosquitoes bite the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver and then infect red blood cells. Even though this potentially fatal disease can be prevented and cured, each year 350-500 million cases of malaria still occur worldwide, and over one million people die.

The Effect of Climate Change on Malaria

In commemoration of World Malaria Day, 2021, we look at the relationship between malaria transmission and climate change.

What is Malaria?

Malaria Causes

World Malaria Day 2021: An interview with Sir Brian Greenwood

Malaria Mechanism

Malaria Diagnosis

Malaria Prevention

World Malaria Day 2021: Finding new approaches to fight malaria

Malaria Treatment

Malaria Epidemiology

Malaria History

Fighting malaria in 2021: Where are we now and where are we going?

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Malaria Society And Culture

Malaria Symptoms

Malaria: A Force Shaping Blood Cell Evolution?

What is Cerebral Malaria?

Driving the Self-Destruction of Malaria-Transmitting Mosquitos

The Science Behind Why Mosquitoes Prefer to Bite Certain People

Latest Malaria News and Research

Genetics of Alzheimer's disease and dementia in African populations presented at Nairobi conference

Regions of the genome associated with Alzheimer's disease and dementia in African populations will be presented at the Future of Dementia in Africa conference on September 11-12, 2024.

12 Sep 2024

How mosquito spit could help develop therapies for arboviral diseases

You might guess it'd be tough to extract saliva from a mosquito. And you'd be correct. Yet, because mosquitos spread disease via saliva, it's critical to sample and study.

5 Sep 2024

Mosquito males’ visual and auditory cues reveal new insights for malaria control

A high-pitched buzzing sound in your ear is an unmistakable sign that a female mosquito is out on the hunt -; for they, not males, drink blood. Hearing that tone might make you turn to try to swat the pest. But for a male mosquito, that tone means it's time to mate.

30 Aug 2024

LSHTM receives £2.8m grant to tackle hidden malaria in India

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have been awarded £2.8m to study factors sustaining malaria transmission in an area of India where infections are evading detection.

27 Aug 2024

Mosquitoes detect infrared radiation for host seeking

While a mosquito bite is often no more than a temporary bother, in many parts of the world it can be scary. One mosquito species, Aedes aegypti, spreads the viruses that cause over 100,000,000 cases of dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and other diseases every year. Another, Anopheles gambiae, spreads the parasite that causes malaria. The World Health Organization estimates that malaria alone causes more than 400,000 deaths every year. Indeed, their capacity to transmit disease has earned mosquitoes the title of deadliest animal.

23 Aug 2024

Expanded use of common antibiotic cuts child mortality by 14% in Sub-Saharan Africa

When UC San Francisco research showed that routinely treating children in Sub-Saharan Africa with a common antibiotic could reduce deaths in children under five, the World Health Organization (WHO) moved quickly to recommend the treatment – but only for infants between 1 and 11 months old.

22 Aug 2024

Spatial transcriptomics unlocks malaria's liver stage secrets

For the malaria parasite to reach the blood of its human host, it must first enter the liver, where only a small number of parasites differentiate and replicate for upwards of seven days, making it a bottleneck in the parasite's lifecycle. This bottleneck makes the liver stage an optimal target for effective and long-lasting vaccines against the disease. Using Spatial Transcriptomics and single-cell RNA-sequencing technologies, researchers at Stockholm University have for the first time managed to create a spatio-temporal map of malaria infection in the mouse liver. A study that was recently published in Nature Communications.

21 Aug 2024

First meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee reports on mpox surge

The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), having concurred with the advice offered by the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR or Regulations) Emergency Committee regarding the upsurge of mpox 2024 during its first meeting, held on 14 August 2024, has determined, on the same date, that the ongoing upsurge of mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in a growing number of countries in Africa constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) under the provisions of the Regulations.

20 Aug 2024

Study reveals time-of-day impact on cerebral malaria severity

A discovery by McGill-affiliated researchers could lead to more effective treatment of malaria and other parasitic diseases.

19 Aug 2024

Pneumococcal vaccines could drastically reduce child deaths by 2030

Utilizing pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) could save almost 700,000 children's lives between the time of their introduction to the year 2030, according to a new modeling study. This would be equivalent to the average number of babies born in the UK each year.

16 Aug 2024

Breakthrough malaria vaccine offers long-term protection for pregnant women

In a report published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases (Safety and efficacy of PfSPZ Vaccine against malaria in healthy adults and women anticipating pregnancy in Mali: two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 and 2 trials) a team led by investigators at the Malaria Research and Training Center (MRTC), Bamako, Mali; the Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology (LMIV), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; and Sanaria Inc. describes the durable protective efficacy against malaria shown by Sanaria® PfSPZ Vaccine when administered to women prior to pregnancy.

14 Aug 2024

Experimental malaria vaccine shows promise in protecting pregnant women

Two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported trials of an experimental malaria vaccine in healthy Malian adults found that all three tested regimens were safe.

14 Aug 2024

ANU researchers develop cholesterol-based trojan horse method to target malaria parasites

More than a quarter of Australians over the age of 50 take cholesterol-lowering drugs to prevent heart disease and strokes, but our bodies also need cholesterol to survive.

13 Aug 2024

Pioneering study brings leishmaniasis vaccine development closer

Scientists have developed a new, safe and effective way to infect volunteers with the parasite that causes leishmaniasis and measure the body's immune response, bringing a vaccine for the neglected tropical disease a step closer.

2 Aug 2024

Climate change-driven migrations worsen infectious diseases in vulnerable regions

Climate change-driven migrations increase infectious disease risks by spreading pathogens and overcrowding vulnerable regions, demanding urgent, targeted interventions.

1 Aug 2024

How insecticide resistance in household pests fuels malaria resurgence

For decades, insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor insecticide spraying regimens have been important – and widely successful – treatments against mosquitoes that transmit malaria, a dangerous global disease. Yet these treatments also – for a time – suppressed undesirable household insects like bed bugs, cockroaches and flies.

23 Jul 2024