Tuesday 24th November 2015- BBC News: Mutant mosquitoes ‘resist malaria’

‘US scientists say they have bred a genetically modified (GM) mosquito that can resist malaria infection.

If the lab technique works in the field, it could offer a new way of stopping the biting insects from spreading malaria to humans, they say.

The scientists put a new “resistance” gene into the mosquito’s own DNA, using a gene editing method called Crispr.

And when the GM mosquitoes mated – their offspring inherited the same resistance, PNAS journal reports.

In theory, if these mosquitoes bite people, they should not be able to pass on the parasite that causes malaria.

About 3.2bn people – almost half of the world’s population – are at risk of malaria.

Bed nets, insecticides and repellents can help stop the insects biting and drugs can be given to anyone who catches the infection, but the disease still kills around 580,000 people a year.’

‘Scientists have been searching for new ways to fight malaria.

The University of California team believe their GM mosquito could play a pivotal role – breeding resistant offspring to replace endemic, malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

They took a type of mosquito found in India – Anopheles stephensi – on which to experiment.

Dr Anthony James and his team showed that they could give the insect new DNA code to make it a poor host for the malaria parasite.

The DNA, which codes for antibodies that combat the parasite, was inherited by almost 100% of the mosquito offspring and across three generations.’

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Mutant mosquitoes ‘resist malaria’

Sunday 22nd November 2015- BBC News: UK government sets up £1bn fund to fight malaria

‘The UK government is to create a new £1bn fund aimed at eradicating malaria and other infectious diseases.

The Ross Fund will be run in partnership with US philanthropists, Bill and Melinda Gates.

It is named after Sir Ronald Ross who became Britain’s first Nobel Prize winner in 1902 for his discovery that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes.

The number of people dying from malaria is falling but a child still dies from the disease every minute in Africa.

Ministers say the partnership with the Microsoft founder and his wife Melinda marks a “fundamental restructuring” of the UK’s aid budget.

The £1bn will come from the UK’s overseas aid budget over the next five years.

Of the total:

• £115m is earmarked for research into new drugs, diagnostics and insecticides for malaria, TB and other infectious diseases
• A further £188m will be spent on improving biodefences and rapid response systems to fast-spreading epidemics such as Ebola

Chancellor George Osborne said one billion people were infected with malaria and 500,000 children die from the disease each year.

He said the government’s commitment to overseas aid helps to “promote our national security and interests around the world”.’

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UK government sets up £1bn fund to fight malaria

Tuesday 20th October 2015- New Scientist: World Health Organization may approve first malaria vaccine

‘Experts advising the World Health Organization look set to recommend the use of the world’s first malaria vaccine.

Malaria kills half a million African children under 5 every year. In April, a massive trial of the vaccine RTS,S, made by GlaxoSmithKline, found that children over 5 who got three doses plus a booster 18 months later had 36 per cent fewer cases of malaria over the subsequent four years. Cases fell 26 per cent in young babies vaccinated in the same way – enough to avert one or two cases of malaria per child.

The trial was carried out in seven African countries. Communities hosting the trial also received other measures to combat the disease, such as insecticide-treated bed nets and prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Although the vaccine offers only modest protection, Marcel Tanner of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, one of the WHO’s advisers, says its benefits should be even greater in African communities with less access to these measures.’

‘In July, the European Medicines Agency advised that the vaccine would be cost-effective, especially in high-transmission zones. A map of these areas will be published next month.’

‘The WHO’s advisers will present their evidence at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, this week, and their views will help shape its formal guidance for member states.’

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World Health Organization may approve first malaria vaccine

Tuesday 20th October 2015- The Guardian: Cambodia’s battle against malaria put at risk as expenses row holds up funds

‘Cambodia’s fight against malaria is at risk of being derailed because of a dispute over expenses payments between the Cambodian government and the Global Fund, the biggest donor to the country’s malaria programme.

The row comes as the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that malaria cases in Cambodia have increased significantly in the last year.

According to a source close to the Global Fund in Cambodia, the Cambodian government is refusing to sign a funding agreement for a $12m grant, which could have been put to use since 1 July, because it objects to a requirement to account for travel and accommodation costs.’

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Cambodia’s battle against malaria put at risk as expenses row holds up funds

Thursday 17th September 2015- BBC News: Malaria: ‘700 million cases’ stopped in Africa

‘Nearly 700 million cases of malaria have been prevented in Africa as a result of concerted efforts to tackle the disease since 2000, a study shows.

The report published in the journal Nature showed that overall the number of infections fell by 50% across the continent.

Bed nets were responsible for the vast majority of the decrease.

There have also been calls to maintain funding to ensure the progress is not undone.

Meanwhile, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the charity Unicef say malaria death rates have fallen 60% globally since 2000 and more than six million lives have been saved.

The report said 13 countries that had malaria in 2000 reported no cases in 2014 while a further six countries had fewer than ten cases.

However, Africa still accounts from 80% of cases and 78% of deaths.’

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Malaria: ‘700 million cases’ stopped in Africa

The effect of malaria control on Plasmodium falciparum in Africa between 2000 and 2015- Nature

Monday 17th August 2015- BBC News: Call for Army to stop using malaria drug mefloquine

‘A call has been made for an immediate ban on a controversial anti-malaria drug given to British soldiers.

The side-effects of mefloquine, or Lariam, have been linked to severe depression and other mental illnesses.

Conservative MP Johnny Mercer says he has received dozens of letters from service personnel claiming they have become affected since taking it.

The MoD said mefloquine’s use was based on expert advice, and it was widely used by civilians and military.

Mefloquine is a once-a-week anti-malarial tablet for soldiers serving overseas.’

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Call for Army to stop using malaria drug mefloquine

Sunday 3rd May 2015- The Guardian: Central African Republic facing chronic healthcare crisis as scars of conflict abide

‘Malaria and other preventable diseases rife as ongoing insecurity hampers aid delivery in a country where humanitarian plight has been largely ignored’.

‘More than two years of sectarian violence have decimated already fragile health systems in Central African Republic (CAR), leading to a rise in preventable diseases like malaria among families still hiding from armed groups in the bush, according to the head of a medical charity.’

‘The UN has warned that the situation in one of the world’s poorest countries risks becoming “the largest forgotten humanitarian crisis of our time” as the plight of 2.7 million people needing aid fails to loosen donor purse-strings.

Despite the ongoing insecurity, efforts are being made to heal the scars left by a conflict that effectively cut CAR, which has a population of 4.6 million people, in half. A national reconciliation forum is due to start in the capital Bangui on Monday to prepare the ground for elections later this year.

De Barros-Duchêne said the conflict had exacerbated years of neglect in a country that ranks 185th out of 187 in the UN’s human development index despite rich natural resources, such as diamonds and gold.’

‘“Malaria is the main cause of death here, but it could be treated very easily if it were caught on time. The problem is that when patients, especially children, arrive, they are already in a critical state and require hospitalisation.”

Nearly 900,000 people have fled their homes since December 2013, with about half crossing into neighbouring countries and the rest seeking shelter within CAR. De Barros-Duchêne said militias were still engaged in “scorched earth” campaigns, burning villages so that terrified residents had nowhere to call home and no fields to cultivate for food.’

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Central African Republic facing chronic healthcare crisis as scars of conflict abide

Tuesday 21st April 2015- World Health Organisation: WHO warns of imminent collapse of health care services in Yemen

‘WHO warns of an imminent collapse of health care services in Yemen. Health facilities are struggling to function as they face increasing shortages of life-saving medicines and vital health supplies, frequent disruptions in power supply and lack of fuel for generators. Lack of fuel has also disrupted functionality of ambulances and the delivery of health supplies across the country.

Power cuts and fuel shortages also threaten to disrupt the vaccine cold chain, leaving millions of children below the age of five unvaccinated. This increases the risk of communicable diseases such as measles, which is prevalent in Yemen, as well as polio, which has been eliminated but is now at risk of reappearing.

Shortages of safe water have resulted in increased risk of diarrhoea, and other diseases. “Over the past 4 weeks, national disease surveillance reports show a doubling in the number of cases of bloody diarrhoea in children below the age of 5, as well as an increase in the number of cases of measles and suspected malaria. High rates of malnutrition among women and children below the age of 5 have also been reported,” says Dr Ahmed Shadoul, WHO Representative for Yemen.’

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WHO warns of imminent collapse of health care services in Yemen

Monday 27th October 2014- BBC News: Fears that Ebola crisis will set back malaria fight

‘A leading malaria control expert has said efforts to contain the disease may be jeopardised by the Ebola crisis.

Dr Fatoumata Nafo-Traoré, who heads the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership, said after visiting west Africa: “Understandably, all the health workers’ attention is on Ebola.”

The disease caused almost 4,000 deaths in Sierra Leone in 2012 – as well as around 2,000 deaths in Liberia and approximately 1,000 in Guinea.

Now the three countries are wrestling with the Ebola virus and Dr Nafo-Traoré said she feared that recent gains in preventing malaria could be threatened by the crisis.’

‘One problem is that the early symptoms of Ebola and malaria can be similar…

“The Ebola treatment centres have a protocol for treating cases of fever with anti-malarial drugs too, because the patient might be suffering from both diseases”‘, says Dr Nafo-Traoré.

‘”It’s important to have a co-ordinated approach. A key aim is to decrease cases of malaria-related fever, so the Ebola centres don’t get overwhelmed.’

See:

Fears that Ebola crisis will set back malaria fight