Scientists have discovered a microbe that stops mosquitoes from being infected with malaria, in what might be a revolutionary step forward in the fight against one of the world’s most deadly diseases.
Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people from infected female mosquitoes. Patients suffer an acute fever, chills and aches. If left untreated for 24 hours, it can prove fatal.
The disease killed an estimated 405,000 people in 2018, the vast majority of whom were children in sub-Saharan Africa.
Every year billions of dollars are spent trying to eradicate the disease but while huge advances have been made over the last two decades, progress has slowed in recent years - and scientists are worried that coronavirus could hamper any recent gains even further.
However, a team of researchers from Kenya and the UK say that they have discovered a malaria-blocking bug called Microsporidia MB.
The microbe, which is similar to fungi, lives in the gut and genitals of the insects. The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Nature Communications, studied mosquitoes around Lake Victoria in Kenya. They found that none of the mosquitoes infected with Microsporidia were carrying the malaria parasite.
Jeremy Herren, lead researcher at the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya, told the BBC that "the data we have so far suggest it is 100 per cent blockage, it's a very severe blockage of malaria…I think people will find it a real big breakthrough.”
The microbe does not appear to be harmful towards the host mosquito. Scientists think it may even bolster their immune system and raise their chance of survival.
"Research showed that the microbe is passed from female mosquitoes to their offspring at high rates, and does not kill or cause obvious harm to the mosquito host," Dr Herren said in a statement.
Scientists are still trying to work out how the microbe stops malaria transmission. One theory is that the microbe boosts the mosquitoes metabolism to the point it is no longer hospitable to the malaria parasite.
Another theory is that the microbe boosts the mosquito’s immune system, allowing it to fight off malaria.
Researchers are now investigating how they could safely increase the number of mosquitoes infected with the microbe. One method might be to infect male mosquitoes in a lab, before releasing them into the wild to mate and infect females. Another way could be to release Microsporidia spores into the air.
The study was done in collaboration with researchers from the University of Glasgow.
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