Discover how to kill malaria parasites

This new finding is an important step in finding a new and effective vaccine to combat malaria.( Photo: VOA )

In a recently published study, US scientists have found a way to kill malaria parasites, opening up the opportunity to develop a new and effective vaccine to stop, repel, and delete. eliminate malaria.

Experts from the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute in the US have discovered a sugar substance in the body that plays an important role in the development of malaria parasites. Specifically, this type of sugar is essential for the movement of malaria parasites into the mosquito's stomach to absorb nutrients.

Professor Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, who led the study, said: ' The mosquito's stomach is full of blood. Therefore, if we prevent the production of that sugar, the parasite will die without nutrients '.

' After identifying the role of this sugar, we used genetic engineering to neutralize mosquito's ability to produce sugar. Next, malaria parasites are introduced into the bodies of mosquitoes that have lost their ability to produce sugar. As a result, those parasites cannot move into the mosquito's stomach . '

Although this is the first study to discover the mechanism of development of malaria parasites, contributing to the creation of a new vaccine, the team thinks that making mosquitoes living in nature incapacitated. Sugar production is very difficult to implement.

Therefore, the best way is to produce a vaccine that contains antibodies that block mosquito's ability to produce sugar. When mosquitoes suck blood from people who have been vaccinated, they will be infected with the antibody.

Malaria parasites are invading human red blood cells. ( Photo: wehi )

As a person who has studied mosquitoes that transmit malaria for the past 20 years, Jacobs-Lorena said that ' expanding understanding of malaria parasites is one of the greatest scientific challenges of all time. '.

With this new discovery, scientists have taken an important step in developing a new and effective vaccine to prevent malaria.

Professor Jacobs-Lorena said: 'Our greatest hope is to produce a vaccine with a combination of two factors: to produce antibodies that disable sugar production in the body. mosquitoes, both preventing infection of malaria parasites in humans. That is the best way to protect people from this dangerous disease. '

According to Professor Jacobs-Lorena, despite finding a way to kill malaria parasites in mosquitoes, it takes 10 to 15 years to develop such a vaccine.

However, according to him, this new finding has contributed to narrowing the gap on the way to prevent, repel and eradicate malaria - an annual disease that kills about 3 million people worldwide.

Quang Thinh