Malaria

 

mosquito
Anopeles minimus, one of the
mosquito species responsible for
spreading malaria (Photo: James
Gathany, CDC Public Images Library)


The causal agent of malaria, the Plasmodium parasite, is spread by mosquitoes and causes more than one million deaths each year (most of them children in Sub-Saharan Africa). According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41% of the world’s population lives in endemic areas, and although treatment is available, the vast majority of people who contract malaria are unable to afford medication. Malaria is now the number four cause of death in children in developing countries. It also has devastating economic consequences. As many as 500 million people are infected with the disease each year. Even when not fatal, this results in days away from school, as well as impaired cognitive development for children, and low work productivity for adults. WHO estimates that malaria can lower the GDP of a country by up to 1.3%.

artemisinin
Synthetic production of
artemisinin will help make
antimalarials more accessible.
(Photo: Jay Keasling)

Although several treatments for malaria are currently available, the least expensive antimalarials are also the least effective. Inappropriate use of less costly medicines has led the emergence of resistance across all species of Plasmodium. To slow the spread of resistant strains, WHO recommends the use of combination therapies; however, these treatments are too expensive for the vast majority of people suffering from malaria. Cost-effective malaria diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines are essential in the fight against this ancient parasite.

 

 

Jonathan Ellman, Professor, Chemistry


Jay Keasling, Professor, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory


Michael Marletta, Professor, Chemistry


Kimmen Sjolander, Professor, Bioengineering

 

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