Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Coral alga may hold key to malaria prevention

A brown alga discovered in Sydney harbour by Sydney University scientists could provide the key to treating diseases that disable and kill millions each year

21 Feb 2008

Most maternal deaths worldwide are preventable

A study published in PLoS Medicine this week suggests that of women who die during pregnancy and childbirth in sub-Saharan Africa, more may die from treatable infectious diseases than from conditions directly linked to pregnancy.

20 Feb 2008

US military should ensure careful screening prior to prescribing anti-malarial drug, mefloquine

Malaria is a constant threat to US military personnel operating in Afghanistan, but some troops may face further risk, as epidemiologists have revealed a significant prevalence of contraindications to the safe use of the anti-malarial drug, mefloquine.

20 Feb 2008

Discovery of antibody that neutralizes two viruses classified as henipaviruses

In laboratory experiments, scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and their colleagues supported by the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), have discovered an antibody that neutralizes two viruses classified as henipaviruses.

18 Feb 2008

Health effects of climate change

The possible health effects of climate change have been set out in a report published by the Health Protection Agency and the Department of Health today.

13 Feb 2008

Fake antimalarial drugs analysis highlights threat to global health

A unique collaboration between scientists, public health workers and police has led to the arrest by the Chinese authorities of alleged traders of fake anti-malarial drugs in southern China and the seizure of a large quantity of drugs.

13 Feb 2008

Discovery of possible target for prevention and treatment of pneumonia

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a key protein target that may be a crucial factor in the development of a vaccine to prevent and new therapies to treat pneumonia, the leading killer of children worldwide.

12 Feb 2008

Could a simple vitamin A and zinc supplement help protect young children from malaria?

A randomized double blind trial reported in the open access publication, Nutrition Journal, would suggest the answer is yes.

7 Feb 2008

New vaccine for malaria under trial

Trials are underway, funded by the Wellcome Trust, for a new vaccine to combat the most deadly form of malaria.

5 Feb 2008

New discovery, immune cells confront viruses just inside of the lymph node

Vaccines have led to many of the world's greatest public health triumphs, but many deadly viruses, such as HIV, still elude the best efforts of scientists to develop effective vaccines against them. An improved understanding of how the immune system operates during a viral infection is critical to designing successful anti-virus vaccines.

4 Feb 2008

Bush in State of the Union address calls on Congress to allocate $30 billion for PEPFAR

President Bush on Monday during his last State of the Union address urged Congress to authorize a $30 billion, five-year extension of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the New York Times reports (Stolberg, New York Times, 1/29).

30 Jan 2008

Candidate malaria vaccine shows promise

A small clinical trial conducted by an international team of researchers in Mali has found that a candidate malaria vaccine was safe and elicited strong immune responses in the 40 Malian adults who received it.

24 Jan 2008

New compounds for treating tuberculosis and malaria

University of Navarra PhD in chemistry researcher, Esther Vicente, has discovered new compounds active for treating tuberculosis and malaria.

23 Jan 2008

Monkey malaria more widespread in Malaysian people than previously thought

A potentially fatal species of malaria is being commonly misdiagnosed as a more benign form of the disease, thereby putting lives at risk, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the University Malaysia Sarawak.

16 Jan 2008

Blocking parasites' communication reduces infection

One of the most common human parasites, Toxoplasma gondii, uses a hormone lifted from the plant world to decide when to increase its numbers and when to remain dormant, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

10 Jan 2008

Emerging diseases and environmental change

The EDEN Project, which was launched in 2004 on the initiative of CIRAD (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development), IRD ((Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement) and the Institut Pasteur in Paris, to run for five years, associates 49 partners in 24 countries, most of them European.

9 Jan 2008

Contact with commonly used pesticides associated with greater asthma risk in farm women

New research on farm women has shown that contact with some commonly used pesticides in farm work may increase their risk of allergic asthma.

2 Jan 2008

Sea-cucumber protein may provide methods of preventing the transmission of malaria

Scientists have genetically engineered a mosquito to release a sea-cucumber protein into its gut which impairs the development of malaria parasites, according to research out today (21 December) in PLoS Pathogens.

28 Dec 2007

Aggressive TB control can yield big economic gains

A new World Bank research report finds that 22 countries with the world's highest numbers of TB cases could earn significantly more than they spend on TB diagnosis and treatment if they signed onto a global plan to sharply reduce the numbers of TB-related deaths.

14 Dec 2007

$15 million boost for malaria treatment in rural Tanzania

The Global Program on Malaria at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Communication Programs (CCP) received a $15 million grant to develop communication strategies to prevent and treat malaria in rural Tanzania.

12 Dec 2007