Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Scientists, health officials increasing efforts to fight apread of drug-resistant malaria along Thai-Cambodian border

Scientists and health officials are increasing efforts to curb a drug-resistant malaria strain along the Thai-Cambodian border that is becoming increasingly resistant to artemisinin, an ingredient in artemisinin-based combination therapies, IRIN News reports.

30 Mar 2009

China to open malaria control center in Cameroon

Chinese officials plan to open a malaria research center in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde, Shen Yi, a Chinese embassy official, said recently ahead of an opening ceremony for the center, Xinhuanet reports. The center is expected to cost three million Chinese yuan, or about $440,000, Xinhuanet reports.

25 Mar 2009

About 25% of tuberculosis deaths occur among HIV-positive people

About one-quarter of tuberculosis-related deaths involve an HIV-positive person, twice as high as previous estimates, according to the Global Tuberculosis Control Report 2009, which the World Health Organization released Tuesday to coincide with World TB Day, the Wall Street Journal reports.

25 Mar 2009

Staggering new data shows TB-HIV co-infection a bigger threat

The World Health Organization released staggering new data about the threat of tuberculosis and the toll it takes on people with HIV/AIDS today, in recognition of World TB Day.

24 Mar 2009

Global map identifying areas at high risk of malaria transmission could help efforts to control disease

It might be easier than previously thought to eradicate malaria in some high-risk areas worldwide, according to a study published Tuesday in PLoS Medicine, Reuters India reports. For the study, led by Simon Hay of Oxford University, researchers created a global map that identifies areas at high risk of malaria.

24 Mar 2009

Lancet opinion piece examines progress made against HIV/AIDS

"Nearly 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, we are able to access our progress in tackling the disease with both increased knowledge and the benefit of hindsight," former UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot of Imperial College London, who also serves as an adviser on global health strategy to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Mark Dybul of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University and former U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator; and Julian Lob-Levyt of the GAVI Alliance write in a Lancet opinion piece.

24 Mar 2009

HIV-related tuberculosis deaths higher than past estimates

The total number of new tuberculosis (TB) cases remained stable in 2007, and the percentage of the world's population becoming ill with TB has continued the slow decline that was first observed in 2004, according to a new report released by WHO today.

24 Mar 2009

NEJM Letters respond to recent studies on malaria vaccines, treatments

The New England Journal of Medicine in its March 19 issue featured a letter to the editor written in response to a study published in its Dec. 11 issue reporting the results of the RTS,S/AS01E malaria vaccine trial.

23 Mar 2009

NGOs, businesses, health officials should collaborate on malaria control efforts, Ghanaian health official says

Nongovernmental organizations, businesses and health officials should collaborate to fight malaria in Ghana, Anthony Ofori, coordinator of Ghana's Malaria Control Program for the Brong Ahafo region, said recently at a one-day workshop for NGOs and other stakeholders in Fiapre, Ghana, the Ghanaian Times reports.

23 Mar 2009

Advocates, Vatican respond to Pope statement that condom distribution will not curb HIV/AIDS in Africa

Pope Benedict XVI's statement on Tuesday that condom distribution will not curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa has "sparked an international outcry" among HIV/AIDS advocates and prompted a response from the Vatican, AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 3/18).

23 Mar 2009

Christian Science Monitor examines effect of economy on U.S. foreign aid targets

The Christian Science Monitor on Monday examined how the Obama administration is "hinting that the economic downturn means the president is unlikely to reach his goal of doubling foreign aid by the end of his four-year term.

23 Mar 2009

Carbohydrate-based medicine

Scientists from Germany today reported a major advance toward opening the doors of a carbohydrate-based medicine chest for the 21st Century.

22 Mar 2009

UNITAID working with travel web sites to raise donations for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria

Philippe Douste-Blazy, former French foreign minister and head of UNITAID, announced recently that he is in talks with online travel industry CEOs to allow air travelers booking online to make a $2 per-flight donation to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria efforts worldwide, the Financial Times reports.

16 Mar 2009

Malaria immunity trigger found for multiple mosquito species

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have for the first time identified a molecular pathway that triggers an immune response in multiple mosquito species capable of stopping the development of Plasmodium falciparum -the parasite that causes malaria in humans.

15 Mar 2009

Scientists show how 'dormant virus' causes cancer

Cancer Research UK scientists have revealed how a dormant virus triggers a type of cancer found in young people, according to research published in PLoS Pathogens.

15 Mar 2009

Global elimination of rabies appears to be possible

Someone in the developing world - particularly in rural Africa - dies from a rabid dog bite every 10 minutes.

12 Mar 2009

Health impacts of climate change require global action

The health impact of climate change is a critical issue that policy-makers should be aware of while setting priorities for action and investment to mitigate the impact of global climate change. This is the key message that WHO experts delivered at the Climate Change Global Risks, Challenges and Decisions conference in Copenhagen.

11 Mar 2009

Discovery of new mechanism the malaria parasite uses to enter human red blood cells

Virginia Commonwealth University Life Sciences researchers have discovered a new mechanism the malaria parasite uses to enter human red blood cells, which could lead to the development of a vaccine cocktail to fight the mosquito-borne disease.

11 Mar 2009

Tools for more accurate dosage of drugs against HIV/AIDS and malaria

A doctoral thesis presented at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that it is possible to describe and quantify the relationships between dose, concentration and effectiveness of several drugs against HIV/AIDS and malaria.

8 Mar 2009

Synthetic biology extends anti-malaria drug artemisinin's effectiveness

In addition to providing a simple and much less expensive means of making artemisinin, the most powerful anti-malaria drug in use today, synthetic biology can also help to extend the effectiveness of this drug.

8 Mar 2009