Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Hendra and Nipah viruses shown to be susceptible to chloroquine

Two highly lethal viruses that have emerged in recent outbreaks are susceptible to chloroquine, an established drug used to prevent and treat malaria, according to a new basic science study by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Journal of Virology.

5 Mar 2009

Tanzania to introduce ACTs to prevent drug-resistant malaria

Tanzania's government plans to introduce artemisinin-based combination malaria treatments to prevent the development of drug resistance, the Guardian/IPP Media reports.

5 Mar 2009

Botswana to implement pilot HIV/TB program, redesign malaria program

Botswana's Health Minister Lesego Motsumi on Monday presented a pilot program to address HIV/tuberculosis coinfection and support health workers who are treating patients with HIV/TB coinfection, Mmegi reports.

5 Mar 2009

Southern African health officials develop cross-border initiative for malaria elimination

Health ministers from eight countries in the Southern African Development Community this week held a Malaria Elimination Ministerial Meeting in the Namibian capital of Windhoek to develop a cross-border approach for eliminating malaria in the region, New Era reports.

4 Mar 2009

Experimental animal vaccine may protect humans from Ebola

Protection against Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, can be achieved by a vaccine produced in insect cells, raising prospects for developing an effective vaccine for humans, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.

26 Feb 2009

Immune system found to be more versatile than previously thought

By studying how mice fight off infection by intestinal worms - a condition that affects more than 1 billion people worldwide - scientists have discovered that the immune system is more versatile than has long been thought.

26 Feb 2009

Emergence of parasites resistant to artemisinin could set back malaria control success

WHO today said that the emergence of parasites resistant to artemisinin at the Thai-Cambodia border could seriously undermine the success of the global malaria control efforts.

25 Feb 2009

Global AIDS Alliance sounds alarm on potential budget cuts

Amid initial indications that the administration's first budget will flat-line funding for global health, the Global AIDS Alliance is calling on President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to keep their campaign commitments to scale up the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and accelerate efforts to ensure every child around the world gets a free basic education.

23 Feb 2009

Questions of ethics and quality cloud globalization of clinical trials

Top-tier U.S.-based pharmaceutical companies are moving their clinical trials overseas at warp speed, raising questions about ethics, quality control, and even the scientific value of their findings for people back in the U.S.

20 Feb 2009

Researcher presents evolutionary history of modern humans in Africa

Sarah A. Tishkoff, PhD, David and Lyn Silfen University Associate Professor, will present "Evolutionary History of Modern Humans in Africa," at the 2009 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Chicago, as a part of the Sunday, February 15th session, "Studying Vertebrate Genomes: Reading Evolution's Notebooks."

16 Feb 2009

Blood clotting cells help fight malaria

Australian researchers have discovered that blood clotting cells help fight malaria.

10 Feb 2009

World experts meet in Australia to find ways to wipe out malaria

Australia is host to a meeting of World health experts which aims to find ways of eradicating malaria, one of the world's most dangerous killer diseases.

9 Feb 2009

Natural insect repellent could be good news for dengue stricken areas

Scientists in the U.S. have found that a natural compound is just as effective as the widely used synthetic chemical repellent N,N-diethyl-3-methyl benzamide (DEET) against mosquitoes and ticks.

9 Feb 2009

Good news for folks is bad news for mozzies!

Australian scientists have good news for folks but bad news for 'mozzies' with the discovery a possible new treatment for malaria.

8 Feb 2009

Many neglected diseases lacking research funding

The first comprehensive survey of global spending on neglected disease R&D, published in this week's PLoS Medicine , finds that just over $US 2.5 billion was invested into R&D of new products in 2007, with three diseases-HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria-receiving nearly 80% of the total

5 Feb 2009

Genetic marker for insecticide resistance in mosquitoes identified

Research led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine has identified the genetic basis for resistance to commonly-used insecticides in one of the major malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa.

5 Feb 2009

Major malaria breakthrough

A team of Monash University researchers led by Professor James Whisstock has made a major breakthrough in the international fight against malaria, which claims the life of a child across the world every 30 seconds.

3 Feb 2009

Robot scientist promises to dig up new drugs

A robot scientist that can make informed guesses about how effective different chemical compounds will be at fighting different diseases could revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry by developing more effective treatments more cheaply and quickly than current methods.

3 Feb 2009

Climate changes in Australia will increase dengue fever

As global warming raises concerns about potential spread of infectious diseases, a team of researchers has demonstrated a way to predict the expanding range of human disease vectors in a changing world.

29 Jan 2009