Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Compound might defeat African sleeping

One of the most devastating diseases in sub-Saharan Africa almost disappeared in the late 1950s.

26 Aug 2005

Building stronger health systems key to reaching the health millenium development

Building up and strengthening health systems is vital if more progress is to be made towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report. Unless urgent investments are made in health systems, current rates of progress will not be sufficient to meet most of the goals.

22 Aug 2005

Japanese encephalitis in Indian province - update

Health officials say nine more people have now died from Japanese encephalitis in India's Uttar Pradesh state, taking the death toll from the mosquito-borne disease to 99.

22 Aug 2005

India's encephalitis death toll reaches 110 and most are children

The deaths of another twenty people in an encephalitis outbreak in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh has taken the toll to 110 as of Saturday.

21 Aug 2005

Majority of Americans believe that vaccines are the best hope for controlling the global AIDS epidemic

But while most of those surveyed felt it personally important to help support HIV vaccine research, a majority expressed reluctance to support a friend or family member's participation in an HIV vaccine clinical trial.

9 Aug 2005

Mosquitoes are most attracted to children infected with malarial parasite

Malaria remains a devastating problem in Africa and understanding the factors affecting its transmission remains a crucial part of the effort to combat the disease.

9 Aug 2005

Valuable clues for rational antimalarial drug design and vaccine development

By determining the molecular structure of a protein that enables malaria parasites to invade red blood cells, researchers have uncovered valuable clues for rational antimalarial drug design and vaccine development. The findings are reported in the July 29 issue of the journal Cell.

28 Jul 2005

Combination therapy based on artemisinins might not be the ideal treatment for malaria

If used alone, artemisinins will cure the most severe type of malaria - falciparum malaria - in seven days. However, when used on their own, they have a high risk of the malaria coming back and hence must be combined with other antimalarials to work best.

26 Jul 2005

Plant toxins in the diets of early humans drove the evolution of taste

Plant toxins in the diets of early humans drove the evolution of a bitter taste receptor better able to detect them, suggests new genetic research by scientists at University College London, Duke University Medical Center, and the German Institute of Human Nutrition.

25 Jul 2005

Reliable research about the benefits and harms of treatments for malaria in pregnant women is scarce

Few studies compare the effects of different drug regimes in pregnant women, and many of the best studies were conducted in Southeast Asia, where malaria transmission rates are low, says researcher Lois Orton of the University of York in England.

20 Jul 2005

G8 must focus on healthcare to save millions of lives

Millions of people are dying in the developing world because of poor access to cheap medicines and basic healthcare, the BMA says today (Wednesday, 6 July, 2005) ahead of the G8 summit.

6 Jul 2005

Report highlights importance of research into diseases in developing countries

Better drugs and vaccines are needed to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), malaria and other tropical diseases. Pharmaceutical research has typically focussed on developing drugs, vaccines and other interventions for diseases prevalent in developed countries, where people can afford to buy treatments; it has tended to overlook those disorders that predominantly affect developing countries.

30 Jun 2005

Scientists aim to mislead malaria mosquitoes with odours

An international team of scientists will in the coming five years set up a research project on developing diversions to mislead malaria mosquitoes with odours.

29 Jun 2005

If global efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS are to work long term, they must avoid suspicions of being unfair

Johns Hopkins infectious disease specialists who have spent more than two decades leading efforts to combat HIV and AIDS worldwide are warning that limited international relief supplies of antiretroviral therapies currently being distributed in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean will not get to those who can least afford to pay for them.

28 Jun 2005

Multi-million pound Grand Challenge grants to tackle TB and malaria in the developing world

UK scientists are to help tackle TB and malaria in the developing world through their leadership of two major international research projects.

28 Jun 2005

Grand Challenges in Global Health awards $450m to top scientists

Grants totalling U.S $450m were awarded yesterday to some of the world's most inventive scientists to enable them to turn their novel ideas into practical solutions to the 14 greatest problems plaguing human health today.

28 Jun 2005

Gleevec or similar drugs might be useful in preventing adverse side effects of smallpox vaccine

Mice given a relatively new cancer drug can survive an otherwise lethal dose of vaccinia virus, a relative of smallpox virus, report scientists supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

27 Jun 2005

$5.1 billion could save 6 million children

Six million children could be saved if $5.1 billion in new resources for preventive and therapeutic interventions were provided each year, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions.

27 Jun 2005

Expert says the world is not ready for the next pandemic

Michael T. Osterholm is Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, Associate Director of the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Food Protection and Defense, and Professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health.

21 Jun 2005

Partnership to develop an AIDS vaccine using a promising new technology

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals (GSK Biologicals) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) today announced a public-private partnership to develop an AIDS vaccine using a promising new technology.

21 Jun 2005