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Private sector role remains elusive |
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The Affordable Medicines Facility malaria (AMFm) approach to distributing malaria treatments is via the public health system with no direct charge to patients, failures in supply and the long distance to clinics mean many buy drugs from private vendors. Read more.. |
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Rob Newman, head of the WHO’s global malaria programm says “We need to look at different options for rapid diagnostic tests”. The advent of low-cost, rapid diagnostic tests makes it essential that ACTs are only supplied to those with confirmed cases of malaria. Read more.. |
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Vaccines Test setbacks demonstrate formidable nature of the adversary |
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Vasee Moorthy, technical officer at the World Health Organisation (WHO) says “There are currently no licensed malaria vaccines”.Read more.. |
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More push required in fight against mass killer |
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As Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 660,000 people die from malaria each year and 219 million are infected, causing personal tragedy and slowing economic development in some of the poorest regions of the world.Read more.. |
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Protagonists dig deeper in their efforts to crush a complex foe |
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Mosquitoes Changes in the insect’s behavior have made it tougher for scientists engaged in the battle. The insect has become more active outdoors and more active early in the day, not just at night. While most malaria transmission occurs in sub-tropical areas of Africa, the US and Asia, mosquitoes have different behavioural patterns. Anopheles gambiae, the species that transmits malaria, prefer to bite humans while Anopheles quadriannulatus, a non-vector species, stick to animals. Read more.. |
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Yeast process gives rise to research progress |
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The nine-year programme to develop a cheaper and more reliable source of artemisinin – a natural product derived until now from the sweet wormwood plant – has involved extensive re-engineering of baker’s yeast to make the yeast cells convert glucose into artemisinic acid in a fermenter. This precursor molecule is then transformed into artemisinin itself through a more conventional chemical process catalysed by light. |
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The new compounds, which go by the tongue-twisting name of 4(1H)-quinolone-3-diarylethers, show strong activity in lab tests against Plasmodium faciparum and P vivax, the parasite species that causes most malaria cases. |
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The “lead compound” in this group, known as ELQ-300, acts against the parasite at several stages of its life cycle. Read more.. |
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Supply of vital weapon cries out for raised funding |
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Bed nets Fits and starts in assistance from donors hamper efforts to increase production and delivery, most people agree on is that the distribution of bed nets has proved one of the most powerful tools in the battle against mosquitos. Read more.. |
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