Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Community health workers vital to improving health care in Africa

Community health workers (CHWs) "are seen to be a key part of a functioning primary health system," especially in African nations, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, writes in a post on Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

19 Jan 2012

New York Times examines history of malaria drug artemisinin

The New York Times examines the history of the Chinese drug artemisinin, "hailed as one of the greatest advances in fighting malaria ... since the discovery of quinine centuries ago," noting the drug "is being talked about as a candidate for a Nobel Prize in Medicine."

19 Jan 2012

PfSET10 molecule plays a crucial role in malaria infection

The discovery by researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of a molecule that is key to malaria's 'invisibility cloak' will help to better understand how the parasite causes disease and escapes from the defenses mounted by the immune system.

19 Jan 2012

Scientists crack genetic code for Schistosoma haematobium

Scientists have cracked the genetic code and predicted some high priority drug targets for the blood parasite Schistosoma haematobium, which is linked to bladder cancer and HIV/ AIDS and causes the insidious urogenital disease schistosomiasis haematobia in more than 112 million people in Africa.

19 Jan 2012

Counterfeit malaria drugs endanger millions of lives

According to researchers fake and poor quality anti-malarial drugs are threatening efforts to control the disease in Africa and could put millions of lives at risk. These counterfeit medicines could harm patients and promote drug resistance among malaria parasites, warns the study, funded by the Wellcome Trust.

18 Jan 2012

Congressional delegation visits U.S.-funded development projects in Tanzania

A Congressional delegation traveling in Africa visited Arusha, Tanzania, on Wednesday "to see first-hand the impact of development projects" funded by the U.S., IPP Media reports, noting that the delegation included Senators Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Tex.).

18 Jan 2012

Global Fund executive director urges Ukraine to step up efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Monday "urged Ukraine to step up its efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic," calling "on the Ukrainian authorities to expand opiate substitution therapy, ensure HIV/AIDS treatment in prison and increase government funding of anti-AIDS programs," the Associated Press reports.

18 Jan 2012

Counterfeit, substandard drugs threaten progress in controlling malaria in Africa, researchers report

"Hopes of controlling malaria in Africa could be wrecked by criminals who are circulating counterfeit and substandard drugs, threatening millions of lives, scientists" said in a study published in the Malaria Journal last month, the Guardian reports.

18 Jan 2012

Researchers develop simple process for synthesis of artemisinin

The most effective anti-malaria drug can now be produced inexpensively and in large quantities. This means that it will be possible to provide medication for the 225 million malaria patients in developing countries at an affordable price. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam and the Freie Universit-t Berlin have developed a very simple process for the synthesis of artemisinin, the active ingredient that pharmaceutical companies could only obtain from plants up to now.

18 Jan 2012

Pevion announces further data from clinical study of PEV7 therapeutic Candida vaccine

Pevion Biotech AG today announced further data from the ongoing clinical study of its therapeutic Candida vaccine PEV7, demonstrating the generation of specific and functional B cell memory in 100% of vaccinees. Furthermore, the results again confirm the capability of Pevion's second generation virosomal vaccine platform to induce strong and long-lasting immunity in humans against otherwise weak antigens .

17 Jan 2012

Al Jazeera examines candidate malaria vaccine, other ongoing efforts to thwart the disease

Al Jazeera reports on the candidate malaria vaccine known as RTS,S, which "has been heralded as one of the Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2011 by Time and Science magazines, Doctors Without Borders and the Lancet."

13 Jan 2012

Investing in Frontline Health Workers effective in saving lives of mothers, children

In the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children, writes about the Frontline Health Workers Coalition's call on the U.S. government to train 250,000 new frontline health workers in developing countries, stating, "At a time when every dollar counts more than ever, the new Frontline Health Workers Coalition believes this focus is the most cost-effective way to save mothers' and children's lives around the world, address global health threats, and help advance strategic U.S. interests in a secure and prosperous world."

12 Jan 2012

END7 campaign aims to combat seven major NTDs by 2020

Launched today, the END7 campaign is dedicated to eliminating seven major neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as a public health threat to poor communities by the end of 2020.

10 Jan 2012

Congressional delegation visits Africa to assess impact of U.S.-sponsored projects

A Congressional delegation consisting of six senators and one representative arrived in Africa on Thursday for an eight-day trip that "includes oversight of Department of Defense, Department of State, and USAID activities in Africa," the Daily Republic reports.

10 Jan 2012

Researchers crack structure and function of malarial protein

A biology lab at Washington University has just cracked the structure and function of a protein that plays a key role in the life of a parasite that killed 655,000 people in 2010.

7 Jan 2012

Driving in the mid-lane helps pensioners stay safe

It's official: older adults are naturally inclined to drive in the middle of the road, leaving the younger generation to cut corners. This tendency to sit mid-lane is an in-built safety mechanism that helps pensioners stay safe behind the wheel, according to researchers at the University of Leeds, UK.

5 Jan 2012

BBC examines eastern DRC's battle with malaria

A BBC News article and related video examine the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's battle with malaria. "'Malaria is the main killer here in Congo, especially for pregnant women and children,' says Dr. Vincker Lushombo, from Save the Children," BBC writes.

5 Jan 2012

Foreign aid to MICs needs 'more sophisticated approach' instead of cuts

"[T]he E.U., the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, and the World Bank's International Development Association ... want to save money during a fiscal crunch by cutting off aid to middle-income countries (MIC)," Andy Sumner and Amanda Glassman of the Center for Global Development write in the Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog."

4 Jan 2012

Individuals with diverse skin microbiota at lower risk of contracting malaria

The microbes on your skin determine how attractive you are to mosquitoes, which may have important implications for malaria transmission and prevention, according to a study published Dec. 28 in the online journal PLoS ONE.

29 Dec 2011