Atdf journal jseptember 05.pub

AT DF Journal Vol ume 2, Issue 3
Health Science in the News A focus on malaria man. When an infected person is bitten again, the para-site can be transmitted to an uninfected mosquito and spread further. To stop the transmission a perfume is Chloroquine - which is far cheaper than more modern being developed by an international team of scientists at malaria drugs - was hugely successful in combating the Yale University to redirect mosquitoes with odor cues. disease when launched in the 1950s – it works by The project is one of the 43 "groundbreaking" research blocking the way the parasite breaks down human hae- projects to improve health in developing countries. The moglobin contained in red blood cells. But the malaria aim is to reduce the population of malaria transmitting parasite gradually became resistant to Chloroquine. mosquitoes by identifying effective “perfumes” that act The resistant forms of the parasite neutralise the drug as attractants to traps or as mosquito repellents. The by developing a mechanism that drains chloroquine institutions involved include the Ifakara Health Research away from the key area, preventing it from reaching the and Development Centre in Tanzania and the Medical Research Council Laboratories in Gambia (Africa). Researchers have found combining the chloroquine with another preparation, Primaquine, seems to restore its effect. Combination of chloroquine with chlor- pheniramine proved effective in treating children and pregnant women with chloroquine-resistant infections. http://www.who.int/tdr/research/finalreps/no44.htm A common fungus could be the newest weapon in the fight against malaria. A UK team found that it can prove fatal to mosquitoes which come into contact with the fungus when it is sprayed onto surfaces. A type of fungus from the species Beauveria bassiana was sprayed onto The powerful drugs used to treat HIV have been shown cage mesh. When a mosquito comes in contact with the to also be effective in treating malaria. According to spores, the fungus germinates, penetrates the mosquito scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Re- and grows within it, eventually killing it. The study in Sci- search, Australia, antiretroviral drugs stopped the para- ence showed over 90% of mosquitoes were killed within site that causes malaria from growing. The HIV drugs 14 days of being infected. In laboratory tests, fungal also worked on parasites that had developed resis- infection reduced malaria transmission in the tance to common malaria drugs as demonstrated in laboratory tests. The findings are important in Africa where people are likely to be infected with both HIV and As demonstrated by other studies, six of the five prote- ase inhibitors used to treat HIV were also found to kill Plasmodium falciparum. Dr Savarino from the Catholic University in Rome has patented potential drug treat- Malaria costs Africa USD12 billion a year in monetary ment combinations. This finding also demonstrates terms and between 350 and 500 million cases and an that there potential drug targets in the parasite that estimated 1.5 million deaths in human lives annually. In addition, it is holding back economic and social develop- ment in Africa by slowing down economic growth, dis- couraging investment (local and foreign) and tourism, discouraging the development of internal trade and ad- versely affects people’s choice of economic activities, "Perfume" to Lure Mosquitoes and Control Malaria Female malaria mosquitoes “smell” with specialized receptors in their antennae and are drawn to particular human odors that say “dinner.” While the mosquito feeds on blood that is needed for its egg production, parasites from the mosquito enter and infect the hu- AT DF Journal Vol ume 2, Issue 3
Did you Know! Characteristics and owners of HIV Drugs? Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NRTIs)
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(generic version) Delayed Release capsules Nonnucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (NNRTIs)
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Protease Inhibitors (PIs)
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Fusion Inhibitors
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Source: http://www.atdforum.org/IMG/pdf/Health_in_the_News-2.pdf