Over two-hundred species of malaria exist, but few infect humans. "Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are the most common. Plasmodium falciparum is the most deadly" (WHO). While investigating the fourth type of human malaria, Plasmodium ovale, scientists "confirmed that the parasite is actually two similar but distinct species which do not reproduce with each other" (London).
"Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Mahidol University, Bangkok collaborated last year in order to share their research after noticing that the single parasite Plasmodium ovale, though visible through a microscope, was not detected by forensic DNA tests designed to identify the species."
According to lead researcher, Dr. Colin Sutherland, it "was a great surprise to find that, not only are these two species completely distinct from each other by every test we carried out, they actually occur in people living side by side" in the same towns. "We hope to continue our work so we can unravel the mysterious differences between these two newly recognized human pathogens," he says (Sutherland).
Sources:
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (2010, April 19). New species of human malaria recognized. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 27, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2010/04/100419150951.htm
Sutherland et al. Two Nonrecombining Sympatric Forms of the Human Malaria Parasite Plasmodium ovale Occur Globally. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2010; 201 (10): 1544 DOI: 10.1086/652240
WHO. "Malaria fact sheet." http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/
Showing posts with label genetics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genetics. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Battling malaria
"Scientists battling malaria have earned a major victory", according to a Nature Genetics study. "Combating malaria resistance is nothing short of an arms race," says author and pediatrics professor, Dr. Philip Awadalla, from the Universite de Montreal. "As the malaria pathogen evolves, researchers must evolve with it to find ways to counter the disease."
Every year approximately 250 million people contract malaria. "Malaria is transmitted when people are bitten by infected mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organization, malaria symptoms include fever, headaches, vomiting and appear within 10 to 15 days after an infected mosquito bite." If left "untreated, malaria can be life-threatening" and may kill "an estimated five million people yearly." At the current level of malaria treatment one million people die annually, and most of those who die are young children.
The team at Universite de Montreal is deciphering the deadly parasite in an effort to eradicate the disease. This "international group of researchers has used genomics [study of organisms' genomes] to decode the blueprint of Plasmodium falciparum -- a strain of malaria most resistant to drugs that causes the most deaths around the world. The discovery may lead to advanced pharmaceuticals to fight the disease and prevent drug resistance".
"The team decoded 200 malaria samples from Asia, Africa, Central America, South America and Papua New Guinea. Their goal was to identify how Plasmodium falciparum strains were becoming resistant to the eight anti-malaria drugs currently available." The team noted how there is "substantial genetic differences in malaria around the world. What has occurred is a combination of genetic drift, where genes segregated over space and time from differential environments, immune pressures and exposures to drugs."
Research discovered that "Plasmodium falciparum recombined fastest in Africa...New clues garnered by this study...will allow pharmaceutical companies to create treatments that target the evolving malaria genome."
Sources:
Mu et al. Plasmodium falciparum genome-wide scans for positive selection, recombination hot spots and resistance to antimalarial drugs. Nature Genetics, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/ng.528
University of Montreal (2010, February 18). Genomic warfare to counter malaria drug resistance. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2010/02/100216140146.htm
Every year approximately 250 million people contract malaria. "Malaria is transmitted when people are bitten by infected mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organization, malaria symptoms include fever, headaches, vomiting and appear within 10 to 15 days after an infected mosquito bite." If left "untreated, malaria can be life-threatening" and may kill "an estimated five million people yearly." At the current level of malaria treatment one million people die annually, and most of those who die are young children.
The team at Universite de Montreal is deciphering the deadly parasite in an effort to eradicate the disease. This "international group of researchers has used genomics [study of organisms' genomes] to decode the blueprint of Plasmodium falciparum -- a strain of malaria most resistant to drugs that causes the most deaths around the world. The discovery may lead to advanced pharmaceuticals to fight the disease and prevent drug resistance".
"The team decoded 200 malaria samples from Asia, Africa, Central America, South America and Papua New Guinea. Their goal was to identify how Plasmodium falciparum strains were becoming resistant to the eight anti-malaria drugs currently available." The team noted how there is "substantial genetic differences in malaria around the world. What has occurred is a combination of genetic drift, where genes segregated over space and time from differential environments, immune pressures and exposures to drugs."
Research discovered that "Plasmodium falciparum recombined fastest in Africa...New clues garnered by this study...will allow pharmaceutical companies to create treatments that target the evolving malaria genome."
Sources:
Mu et al. Plasmodium falciparum genome-wide scans for positive selection, recombination hot spots and resistance to antimalarial drugs. Nature Genetics, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/ng.528
University of Montreal (2010, February 18). Genomic warfare to counter malaria drug resistance. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 20, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2010/02/100216140146.htm
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