Researchers find microbes that could help fight malaria

Researchers have found a form of bacterium that may aid in the fight against malaria.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sub-Saharan Africa would account for the majority of malaria deaths in 2020, with half of the global population at risk.

But scientists in Tres Cantos, Madrid, discovered that consuming a specific strain of bacteria reduces the quantity of infection carried by mosquitoes and lowers the likelihood of malaria transmission.

The director of GSK’s Tres Cantos Laboratory is David Barros-Aguirre.

“So, the bacteria enters the mosquito’s intestines. Even if just one bacterium enters the area, it remains there and reproduces there, just like the microbiome. This particular bacterium also produces a metabolite, or compound, called harmane on its own and it is this compound that affects the viability of the parasite’s eggs.

unchanged DNA
Because the mosquito is not aware of the bacteria’s attack, it is less likely to develop a resistance to it and the bacteria cannot alter the insect’s genetic makeup.

According to Barros-Aguirre, “What happens is that the bacteria colonizes the mosquito’s gut, but does not modify its DNA, does not modify the mosquito’s ability to grow, does not affect the mosquito’s ability to live as any other mosquito, not even in the reproduction, so there are no changes at all affecting the life, the span, or the spread of the mosquito.

The bacteria has been dubbed “TC1” by the pharmaceutical behemoth GSK in honor of the facility where it first attracted so much attention.

Although it will never provide a comprehensive cure for malaria, it is seen as a new weapon in the fight against the illness.

“A resistance won’t develop because it doesn’t influence the mosquito’s viability.

It differs from an insecticide in several ways. The mosquito tries to avoid being killed by insecticides in order to avoid that distress. They won’t attempt to oppose because they are not upset by this.

Researchers are still looking at malaria prevention strategies all across the world.

Although it will probably take several years, GSK is currently working with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, to develop this bacteria for use against the disease.