Outposts

Ten newly funded projects focus on regions where malaria is currently endemic. After receiving "$14 million in first-year funding from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), 10 new research centers are joining the fight to control and ultimately eliminate malaria worldwide."

Malaria parasites infect about 250 million people each year and cause nearly one million deaths annually. Regions that are most plagued by malaria include parts of Africa, Asia, the Pacific islands, and Latin America. These areas are where the NIAID research centers will do the most good.

"The regions include some of the focus countries of the President’s Malaria Initiative, an effort that since 2005 has worked to fight malaria in parts of the world most affected by the disease."

“One of our primary goals with these centers is to fund cutting-edge research in malaria-endemic areas that will keep up with the rapidly changing epidemiology of the disease,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci.

Although malaria has already been eliminated from many parts of the world, "40 percent of the world’s population still lives in areas where they are at risk of contracting the disease."

Scientists and medical professionals at these new centers hope to find a way to end malaria. "The centers seek to integrate clinical and field approaches with laboratory-based immunologic, molecular and genomic methods. They will adapt their research to changes in malaria epidemiology and emerging research needs as well as opportunities within specific regions."



Source:
"US Health Institute Funds 10 Global..." America.gov. 09 July 2010. http://www.america.gov/st/scitech-english/2010/July/20100709163404frnedloh0.4317896.html