Guodong Niu and colleagues have shown that certain leucinostatins from fungal extracts can block the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum to mosquitoes, by inhibiting the parasite’s development ..read more

Malaria, caused by protozoa parasites of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes, is a major threat to human health worldwide. An estimated 247 million cases and 619,000 deaths were reported in 2023. Among the five main Plasmodium species that infect humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax are the most prevalent and widely distributed today; P. falciparum is the major cause of malaria across Africa (and some parts of Caribbean) and P. vivax across Latin American, Asia (and small parts of Africa). Knowledge of the parasite’s historical infection distribution beyond its c ..read more

It is thought that malaria has plagued human beings since pre-historic times. Two species of the parasites that cause this disease, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, are believed to have originated in Africa around 50,000-60,000 years ago and spread with humans as they migrated. Conditions conducive to the spread would be a climate favourable for the anopheline species of mosquito that act as malaria vectors and sufficient density of population to support the dissemination of parasites. There is a suggestion that the disease arrived in Europe during the Neolithic period, 8,500 years ..read more

World Malaria Day (25th April) is a day where the global impact of malaria is highlighted, but the disease has a huge burden around the world and has been with us for thousands of years, so really it stands to reason that important discussions on malaria cannot be limited to just one day. But how is it discussed? What aspects of malaria are being discussed most? How can research about malaria garner more attention? To explore the answers to these questions, I used the Altmetrics platform – a site that that tracks online mentions of articles. I searched for all articles (anything with a DOI) p ..read more

The success disease prevention strategies hinge on the wholehearted participation of the communities they are meant to benefit. While much attention has rightly been given to safeguarding pregnant women and young children, it’s now evident that school-aged children (~5 to 15 years old) represent a crucial yet often overlooked demographic. In Malawi, this age group exhibits the highest prevalence of Plasmodium infection, and they’re also less likely to use bed nets or seek treatment. Given their susceptibility to malaria and their role as potential parasite carriers, engaging them becomes para ..read more

Although the Indomitable Lions suffered an early knock-out from the Afcon football championships, Cameroon has since scored a major goal in public health. The RTS,S vaccine has been celebrated worldwide for becoming the first malaria vaccine to show efficacy and be approved by WHO. After a long journey, the first national roll-out of this pioneering immunisation is beginning soon in Cameroon. Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon (Source: Geoffrey Kateregga via Wikimedia Commons) The ongoing scourge of malarial disease has been successfully countered thanks to fighting the parasite’s mosquito vec ..read more

An archipelago of volcanic islands off the coast of West Africa, Cabo Verde is a place of striking natural beauty. It is characterised by dramatic landscapes that range from volcanic peaks to lush valleys and beautiful beaches. The people of Cabo Verde are known for their warmth and hospitality, and the islands are home to endemic bird species and rare plants. The country has recently adopted a blue economy strategy to protect its environment and promote sustainable development. And in January 2024, Cabo Verde was declared malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). City of Mindelo ..read more

In many developing countries, malaria is a leading cause of disease and death. Via transmission through mosquitos, the responsible Plasmodium parasites have infected and impacted countless lives throughout history, prompting the writer John Whitfield to write in 2002, “Malaria may have killed half of all the people that ever lived.” And according to the World Health Organization, there were approximately 249 million cases of malaria and about 608,000 deaths from the disease across over 80 countries in 2022. So, advancing research on the disease is therefore of the highest priority. This week ..read more

We’re living in a world where we’re mostly bombarded by horrible news from the media we consume, and parasites, vectors and vector-borne diseases are seldom featured. While it’s completely understandable that a person would choose to tune out all the terrible and/or irrelevant information, sometimes we can pick up some relevant stuff. Here, I share with you a few bits of news I heard through my sources (mostly on the radio) in the last few weeks that you might enjoy! Some of them are even good news! RTS,S – R21 recombinant protein comparison; credit: Julius Senegal First, as the best news of ..read more

As more countries are eliminating malaria, their concerns turn towards surveillance and stopping malaria from coming back. In the cases of countries and regions that have been ‘malaria free’ for decades,  there is a relatively small number of cases of malaria each year, and these are usually attributed to the patient having traveled to endemic regions. For instance, the ECDC’s Malaria- Annual Epidemiological Report for 2021 attributed 99.7% of malaria cases in the EU to the patient having traveled to endemic regions. The peak of these cases occur during and just after the summer holidays ..read more