Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

New ‘world-first’ Malaria vaccine in the pipeline

Australian researchers have potentially created a ‘world-first’ malaria vaccine that could save millions of lives. According to Professor Michael Good, of Griffith University in Queensland, his team have found a way to completely protect mice against multiple strains of malaria. The team hopes to begin human trials over the next year to see if it produces a similar response.

12 Jul 2011

Congress should take the lead in foreign aid reform

Citing PEPFAR, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the President's Malaria Initiative as pieces of the "remarkable success story" of U.S. foreign aid over the past decade, former Congress member and Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Green writes in a post on the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network's "ModernizeAid" blog.

8 Jul 2011

Federal appeals court rules government cannot force health groups to take anti-prostitution pledge

"A federal appeals court has ruled that the United States cannot force partners in its international fight against AIDS to denounce prostitution as a condition for receiving funding," the Associated Press reports. Three health organizations sued the government in 2005, saying some groups "advocate for a reduction in penalties for prostitution to prevent interference with outreach efforts," according to the news agency (7/6).

8 Jul 2011

Mass administration of common anti-parasitic is possible new tool in fight against malaria

Ivermectin - an inexpensive, common medication already being used in Africa to treat roundworms that cause river blindness and parasites that cause elephantitis - could also be used to kill mosquitoes carrying malaria parasites, potentially "provid[ing] another useful weapon in the armory against a disease that kills around 800,000 a year, most of them small children and pregnant women," the Guardian's "Global Health Blog" reports (Boseley, 7/6).

8 Jul 2011

Cloud computing technology shortens development time for new antibiotics

IBM today announced researchers from science and technology university ETH Zurich and CloudBroker, a high-performance cloud computing company, have partnered with IBM to use cloud computing technology to conduct cutting-edge research focused on developing new antibiotics to fight disease.

8 Jul 2011

Heartworm medication Ivermectin prevents malaria transmission in Africa

A cheap, common heartworm medication that is already being used to fight other parasites in Africa could also dramatically interrupt transmission of malaria, potentially providing an inexpensive tool to fight a disease that kills almost 800,000 people each year, according to a new study published in the July edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

7 Jul 2011

Vouchers and Health Equity Funds work well for poor: Research

In rich countries, the government can fund the health system directly, or subsidise the health costs of its inhabitants through the social security system. People then only pay a small lump sum. But in low and mid-income countries, the government doesn't have the money for (almost) free healthcare.

7 Jul 2011

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes becoming increasingly resistant to pyrethroid insecticides

Mosquitoes that carry malaria are increasingly becoming resistant to pyrethroid insecticides, which are the only insecticides approved by the WHO to treat bed nets and are the most effective and cost efficient for indoor spraying, Nature News reports.

7 Jul 2011

Gates Foundation releases interactive malaria infographic

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has released a new infographic "to raise awareness about its campaign to end malaria," Mashable reports.

7 Jul 2011

Review identifies RDTs as effective tool to fight malaria

"A new Cochrane Systematic Review examines the accuracy of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs), which are designed to detect malaria based on the presence of parasite antigens, using a quick and easy to use format," according to a press release issued by Wiley.

7 Jul 2011

Germany to restore half of Global Fund donation withheld earlier this year

"Germany is unblocking half of the funding it withheld from" the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria "following revelations of corruption earlier this year," the Associated Press reports.

6 Jul 2011

New GHI research examines conflicts between donor and recipient countries

In the early 2000s, the international aid community started to fund health programs through Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) which provide aid and support for tackling infectious diseases, and for implementing immunization programs against childhood diseases. However priorities set by GHIs and by governments are not always the same.

4 Jul 2011

Aquatain surface layer helps control malaria mosquitoes in rice-agro ecosystems

A thin, liquid layer applied on the surface of inundated rice paddies effectively kills malaria mosquito larvae without having an impact on other aquatic life. Rice yield remains the same and water was saved because of the anti-evaporative properties of the layer.

2 Jul 2011

Checklist to stay healthy and active in summer

The summer is a great season for getting in shape. Whether by playing a sport, doing an aerobic exercise routine, or just returning to that familiar running path -- this is the time for activity.

2 Jul 2011

Senate resolution supporting World Malaria Day

The Senate on Monday night unanimously passed the Senate World Malaria Day Resolution, S. Con. Res. 15, a concurrent resolution with the House of Representatives, according to a post on the Malaria Policy Center blog.

30 Jun 2011

Improving health vital to good governance in Nigeria

In a Daily Independent opinion piece, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Terence McCulley writes that after "truly historic" elections in April, "the Nigerian Government faces complex challenges in the post-election environment. Security, electricity, good roads, education and reliable health care top most people's lists of immediate concerns."

30 Jun 2011

Global malaria R&D funding has received sustained growth, report says

"Annual funding for research and development (R&D) in the fight against malaria has quadrupled over 16 years, generating the strongest pipeline of potential treatments in history, according to a report on Tuesday," Reuters reports.

30 Jun 2011

Georgia residents strongly support investment in public and global health research

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Georgia residents think spending money on research to improve health globally is important for economic development in Georgia, according to a new statewide poll commissioned by Research!America.

30 Jun 2011

Global Fund reports mid-year results

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Tuesday announced that programs it supports have distributed 190 million insecticide-treated bed nets to protect families from malaria since 2003, according to mid-year results, a Global Fund press release notes.

30 Jun 2011

Vaccines may be given in food in the near future

Soon children could be vaccinated with bacteria mixed in milk and people in the developing world given unprecedented access to immunisations under a scheme proposed by an Australian Nobel laureate, Barry Marshall.

29 Jun 2011