Early In Womb Exposure To Malaria May Explain Future Vulnerability Of The Baby

An infant’s defense against future malarial infection might start in the womb depending on the time of infection and if they are exposed to malaria in the womb, finds a new study.

In womb exposure to malaria can determine the future vulnerability of the baby to the infection, finds a new study. The findings of this study are published in the BMC Medicine journal.

The results could help explain why some babies are more susceptible to malaria than others during their first year of life.

HORIBA Medical Delivers Malaria Screening in Routine Hematology
The Malaria flag of HORIBA Medical delivers a Suspicion Malaria Infection screening performed on regular use on hematology analyzers. With this new flag, HORIBA Medical strives to contribute to tomorrow’s health for a Malaria-free world.

‘If we assume that past placental malaria has a profound effect on the newborn's immune response, then a strategy should be created to screen and treat malaria and that too possibly in the first trimester.’

Despite the large-scale implementation of intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp) to avoid malaria during pregnancy, a great number of babies in endemic countries are born to mothers with infection by Plasmodium falciparum.

The type of prenatal exposure to malaria (whether the infection is systemic or in the placenta) is believed to affect the risk of developing the disease in the first years of life, although the mechanisms are poorly understood.

In this study, the research team evaluated whether prenatal exposure to malaria could lead to changes in the so-called innate immune response, which does not involve antibodies and represents the new-borns' first line of defense against malaria.

Immune Cell Variations Contribute to Malaria Severity, Reveals Study
A new study from MIT offers a possible explanation for why some people are more likely to experience a more severe, and potentially fatal, form of malaria.

To do so, the researchers determined the type of prenatal exposure (i.e., systemic infection versus acute, chronic or past placental infection) in a cohort with over 300 mothers and their babies that had participated in a clinical trial in Burkina Faso.

Using cord blood, they assessed the production of cytokines and chemokines (mediators of the immune system) upon incubation with a series of molecules that are common to many pathogens and recognized by cells from the innate immune system.

Tripura: Malaria Cases on the Rise
The Tripura government has taken steps to check any malaria outbreak, said sources.

They found that blood cord cells from babies exposed to malaria produced less mediators when non-stimulated, as compared to unexposed babies. However, cells from babies exposed to past placental infection were hyper-reactive upon stimulation.

Certain biomarkers were associated with protection while others were associated with malaria risk during the first year of life. "The different effect on the newborn's immune response depending on the type of exposure may explain why some babies are more susceptible than others to developing malaria," explains Carlota Dobaño, ISGlobal researcher and co-director of the study together with Anna Rosanas-Urgell, from ITM. "This may also have implications regarding how these babies respond to other infections or to vaccines that contain adjuvants," she adds.

Initiating Female Infertility in Mosquitoes may Prevent Malaria
By spreading female infertility through gene modifications, the local malaria-causing population can be brought down, finds a new intuitive study.

Given that past placental malaria, which potentially occurs early during pregnancy, has a profound effect on the newborn's immune response, the authors conclude "a strategy to screen and treat malaria should be implemented as early as possible in the first trimester."

Source-Eurekalert