Malaria infects millions of people in Africa, Asia and South America every year
Washington: A researcher is developing vaccine to protect global communities from malaria.
University of Oklahoma's scientist has discovered a new mosquito protein for the development of a new vaccine that is expected to stop the spread of the disease in areas where it is considered endemic.
Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes, and it infects millions of people in Africa, Asia and South America every year, causing a global health crisis. In addition to the local populations, U.S. military personnel stationed in these areas and travelers to these malaria-prone areas are at risk of becoming infected.
Researcher Jun Li will travel to Kenya this July to test the newly-developed vaccine in the field. Since mosquitoes are essential for malaria transmission, Li and his colleagues from the OU Norman campus, the OU Health Sciences Center and John Hopkins University have found that an antibody used against a key mosquito protein inhibited malaria parasite invasion in mosquitoes.
The antibody blocks the malaria parasite from the protein, which is needed for the parasite to invade mosquitoes.
Vaccination with this mosquito protein would stop the spread of malaria in communities where it is most needed, added Li, noting that the vaccine should protect an entire community by keeping mosquitoes from transmitting the disease and it has the potential to dramatically reduce the number of malaria cases around the world.
Malaria has been a problem in India for centuries. As per World Malaria Report 2014, 22 percent of India's population live in high transmission areas, 67 percent in low transmission areas and 11 percent live in malaria-free areas.
This study will be published in the July 3, 2015, issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry.
( Source : ANI )
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