You plan to leave for sub-Saharan Africa, Asia or a neotropical region (Central and South America, West Indies and Galapagos Islands)? Then you will not escape the treatment prescribed by your doctor. And for good reason, malaria, transmitted by the bites of female Anopheles mosquitoes, was the cause in 2012 of 627,000 deaths among African children and non-immune travelers are very vulnerable.
In a study published in the British scientific journal Nature Communications, researchers at Imperial College London changed the sex ratio of mosquitoes to have only male mosquitoes and eradicate the disease. They injected female Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes (vectors of the disease) with an enzyme capable of cutting a fragment of their DNA. Results? The offspring of these mosquitoes turned out to be 95% male.
Decline in mortality rate but spread of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes
Dr Roberto Galizi, from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, is very optimistic: “I’m really hopeful about this new approach. It could ultimately lead to a cheap and effective in eradicating malaria from entire regions”.
Since 2000, increased prevention and control measures have reduced the mortality rate of malaria by 42%. But the spread of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and resistant malaria parasites medication still threatens disease control.
According to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization, more than 3.4 billion people are at risk of contracting malaria worldwide. Natives, but also travelers.