New Technology can Make a Huge Difference to Malaria Control

Researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel and the Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research have developed a new molecular technology which can make a huge difference to malaria control methods and vaccine development.

This technique can precisely evaluate the risk of infants in endemic countries developing clinical malaria and can help with prevention strategies and vaccines.

The technique can aid in the understanding of how anti-malarial vaccine and treatment strategies help bring down malaria.

Professor Ivo Mueller from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute said, "It was very clear that infection with new and genetically different malaria parasites was the single biggest factor in determining the risk of an infant becoming sick from malaria, more than any other factor including age, the use of bed nets or the risk of transmission in the area. We were actually surprised by how clear the correlation was."



Source: Medindia