Eradicating Malaria through Drugs that Stop Mosquitoes Catching It

Malaria and Its Transmission

Malaria has been proven to be a deadly mosquito-borne blood illness triggered by the Plasmodium parasite. It is regularly conveyed to the people via a bite by the Anopheles mosquito. As such, the prevention of malaria transmission is one of the crucial parts of the efforts in dealing with the disease (Alonso et al. e1000406). Furthermore, it is true that one could be treated of the illness through the medications that smear out the duplicating form of the parasite; however, one still carries the latent as well as the sexual forms which are the ones accountable for moving the parasite into the mosquito when it nibbles them (Molyneux and Nantulya 1129). While inside the mosquito, the latent parasite matures swiftly and then multiplies which now leaves them prepared to blight another individual when the insect bites them.

Narrative

A recent research by a team of biologists from Imperial College London came up with a numeral of composites that support preventing the parasite from growing while inside the mosquito. The biologists examined over seventy thousand compounds where they identified only six compounds that have the ability to be turned into the medications that hinder the spread. According to Science Daily, the leader of the team, Professor Jake Baum from the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London, stated that the existing antimalarial drugs could cure one of the diseases, but the individual remains infectious to mosquitoes, and thus it would be transmitted to other people (Imperial College London). He proceeded on to disclose that their proposal was an antimalarial drug that guards the mosquitoes by hindering the parasite from the ongoing of their transferable voyage. Furthermore, merging such a medication with the conservative antimalarial treatment does not only cure the people but also protects the entire society as well.

Progress in Controlling Malaria Transmission

In particular, at the point of dealing with malaria from an individual perspective, it is usually a relentless encounter as the parasites tend to become resilient to the antimalarial medications. However, as a result of the transmission taking place in the mosquito, medications that target this progression have the additional advantage of being logically more resistance-proof which is vital for eradicating malaria. One of the compounds has been proved to slab parasite spread from mice; however, the team is still having a research in progress on the other compounds so as to have a clear understanding of how each one works as well as how they could be transformed into drugs in the near future (Imperial College London). Determining exactly, the role of each compound would be a big step about revealing the biology behind the transmission process as well as coming up with new targets for the drug in the near future.

Discussion

In my opinion, this is one of the greatest discoveries in biology at all times. If well embraced, it could help deal with malaria in a great way. In fact, this could be compared to cutting the roots of the disease and not only trying to contain the disease but also preventing further transmission. I would, therefore, recommend the authorities in charge of funding innovative ideas to take a step and allocate enough resources for the accomplishment of the research as well as the establishment of the drug. Finally, it is also important to note that every idea comes with a limitation; hence, any drawback coming with the drug needs to be identified at an early stage to avoid complications.

Works Cited

Alonso, Pedro L., et al. “A Research Agenda to Underpin Malaria Eradication.” PLoS Medicine, vol. 8, no. 1, 2011, p.e1000406. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000406

Imperial College London. “Drugs that Stop Mosquitoes Catching Malaria Could Help Eradicate the Disease.” ScienceDaily, 2018, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180918082059.htm. Accessed 19 Sept. 2018.

Molyneux, David H., and Vinand M. Nantulya. “Linking Disease Control Programmes in Rural Africa: A Pro-Poor Strategy to Reach Abuja Targets and Millennium Development Goals.” BMJ, vol. 328, no. 7448, 2004, pp.1129-1132.