Eradicating Malaria: Scientists Find Microbe That Stops Parasite From Infecting Mosquitoes

Scientists have discovered a microbe that protects mosquitoes from being infected with malaria.?The team involved - from Kenya and the UK - say the finding has ‘enormous potential’ to control the disease.

Malaria as we know, spreads from the bite of infected mosquitoes. Protecting them could in turn protect people.

Unsplash

Investigations are going on whether the infected mosquitoes can be released into the wild, or spores used to suppress the disease.

The Microbe

?Microsporidia MB is the malaria-blocking bug and it was discovered by studying mosquitoes on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. It resides in the gut and genitals of the insects.

Researchers found no mosquito carrying the Microsporidia, was harbouring the malaria parasite. The lab experiments that confirm that the microbe gives protection to mosquitoes, have been published in Nature Communications.?

Microsporidias are fungi, or closely related to them, and most are parasites.

The new species may be seen as beneficial to the mosquito and was naturally found in around 5% of the insects studied.

The Discovery Value

A report mentions Dr Jeremy Herren, from the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) in Kenya, as saying that the blockage of malaria by the microbe is 100% and ‘very severe’.?

It is being considered a big breakthrough.?

Unsplash

Every year over 400,000 people die because of malaria, most of these are children under the age of five.

Microbe Against Malaria

The research is not final yet but Microsporidia MB is believed to be priming the mosquito's immune system, so it is more able to fight off infections.

Or the microbe could be having a profound effect on the mosquito's metabolism, making it inhospitable for the malaria parasite.

Microsporidia MB infections seem to be life-long.The experiments show they become more intense with time, so the malaria-blocking effect would be long-lasting.

For the microbe to have a denting effect on spread of malaria, at least 40% of mosquitoes in a region need to be infected.

Unsplash

The microbe can be passed between adult mosquitoes and passed from the female to her offspring.

The researchers are working on two main strategies for increasing the number of infected mosquitoes.

All we have to do is wait for the final results of the research. But this path-breaking discovery just might mean the end of malaria is in sight.?