Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Giving identical subsidies can get gold-standard medications into the hands of consumers

Equal subsidies "surprisingly powerful," in promoting use of gold-standard medications, new study shows.

9 May 2018

Newly developed technique allows researchers to study liver stage malaria

A newly developed technique allows researchers to more easily study malaria outside the human body during the earliest point of infection, the liver.

9 May 2018

Bone marrow is an important reservoir for replication and transmission of malaria parasites, shows study

A Plasmodium vivax infection is like an iceberg: It's dangerous, in part, because much of it hides out of view.

8 May 2018

Unexpected discovery could improve detection of malaria infections

While the global health community has made great strides toward eradicating malaria through prevention and treatment strategies, rapid and inexpensive methods to diagnose submicroscopic malaria in individuals who have no clinical symptoms and undetectable levels of disease-causing parasites in their blood remain an unmet need.

4 May 2018

Study reveals essential malaria parasite genes

Researchers have exploited a quirk in the genetic make-up of the deadly malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, to create 38,000 mutant strains and then determine which of the organism's genes are essential to its growth and survival.

3 May 2018

Scripps Research team receives $12 million grant to improve flu and malaria vaccines

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute aim to improve flu and malaria vaccines with the support of a new $12 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

3 May 2018

Ticks and mosquitoes a “growing health problem” says CDC

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released a new report warning people about the myriad of diseases that are transmitted via bites of blood-sucking insects such as ticks, mosquitoes and fleas calling it a “growing health problem” in the United States.

2 May 2018

Study: Dehydration prompts increased blood feeding by mosquitoes

When it's hot and dry, mosquitoes like nothing more than the refreshing taste of you.

2 May 2018

Study shows gene variations associated with malaria risk

Many people of African heritage are protected against malaria by inheriting a particular version of a gene, a large-scale study has shown.

25 Apr 2018

Meningitis in Newborns: What to Look Out For

Claire is Evidence & Policy Manager at the UK and international charity Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF). She discusses the signs and symptoms of meningitis in newborns, and the aims for the recent diagnostic eTool developed by the MRF.

24 Apr 2018

Researchers use smartphone to diagnose people infected with Loa loa worm

The Berkeley researchers figured out that they could quickly determine who has the Loa loa worm using a smartphone, customized to work like a microscope. They could then skip the medication for those people and give it to everyone else. Kamgno, who received the latest version of the phones in 2016, dubbed the mobile microscopes "revolutionary."

19 Apr 2018

Researchers discover unique protein in malaria parasite that could be new drug target

Over a thousand people die from malaria every day. The disease is caused by a single-cell parasite (protozoan) that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Anti-malaria efforts currently focus on effective diagnostics, mosquito nets, insecticides and drugs.

18 Apr 2018

Many European countries lack comprehensive policy to eliminate viral hepatitis

Many European countries lack a comprehensive policy to eliminate viral hepatitis as a major public health threat, according to a patient group-based survey implemented in 25 countries.

18 Apr 2018

Study may change global guidelines for managing children with uncomplicated fever

Children in sub-Saharan Africa with uncomplicated fever may be safely managed with conditional, rather than universal, 3-day follow-up with a community health worker, according to a randomized trial by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in PLOS Medicine.

18 Apr 2018

Specific odors from malaria infected individuals attract more mosquitoes

Malaria causes the bodies of its human hosts to emit specific odors from the skin that make the hosts even more attractive to mosquitoes, which invites further bites and risks infection of more mosquitoes and wider transmission of the disease.

17 Apr 2018

Researchers create biocompatible gels using caffeine as catalyst

Caffeine is well-known for its ability to help people stay alert, but a team of researchers at MIT and Brigham and Women's Hospital has now come up with a novel use for this chemical stimulant -- catalyzing the formation of polymer materials.

13 Apr 2018

Temperature has marked effect on toxicity of insecticides used for malaria control

Ambient temperature has a marked effect on the toxicity of the most commonly used insecticides for malaria control, according to a study led by ISGlobal, an institution supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation.

13 Apr 2018

Simple web-based tool for evidence-based integration of disease control

It's a simple idea: Pair the control of a neglected tropical disease with a more prominent disease that afflict the same populations to reduce morbidity and mortality. The approach could be a win-win, but for public health officials, having evidence to support implementation of an integrated approach is vital.

12 Apr 2018

PBO long-lasting insecticidal nets found to be effective in reducing malaria prevalence

Bed nets coated with a long-lasting chemical – called piperonyl butoxide (PBO) – combined with pyrethroid insecticide reduced the prevalence of malaria in children by 44% over one year, and 33% over two years, compared to the bed nets currently used, according to a randomized controlled trial published in The Lancet.

12 Apr 2018

Researcher explores how children develop immunity to malaria as they grow older

Across the world, over 200 million cases of malaria and nearly 500,000 deaths from the disease occur annually--more than 90 percent of which happen in Africa. Children in Africa can be diagnosed with malaria two or three times a year, a rate that decreases as they become older and develop immunity. But the way children generate and maintain this immunity remains a mystery.

11 Apr 2018