The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Curbing malaria: expert for blocking parasite transmission

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Curbing malaria: expert for blocking parasite transmission

‘Possible, by silencing some genes’

Parasite will get killed due to gene silencing: expert
Doubts the long-term efficacy of the vaccines

HYDERABAD: Kotis C.Kafatos, president, European Research Council and Chair of Immunogenomics, Imperial College, London, has expressed scepticism over the long-term effectiveness of treating malaria through drugs or even a vaccine if developed and called eradicating the disease by blocking the transmission of the parasite from the mosquito to humans.

Talking to reporters after delivering the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s Foundation Day Lecture on ‘The New Biology in the Service of Humanity: Understanding and Combating Malaria Transmission’ here on Wednesday, he said it was possible to block the transmission by silencing certain genes.

He said the parasite would get killed due to gene silencing.

“We are not there yet and it might take another 20-30 years to utilise that knowledge,” he added.

Uncertain

He said though the development of vaccine was more promising than what it was two years ago, he said it was not certain when it would be developed.

Expressing doubts over the lasting of any of the vaccines for a long time, he said,

“We have to be prepared for a long struggle. Malaria exists from ancient times…what is important is to control at all levels.”

Prof. Kafatos, who is doing research on malaria with emphasis on mosquito genomics and immunity of Anopheles to the Plasmodium parasite, was optimistic of genomics playing an important role in the control of the disease.

While artemisinin in combination with chloroquine was effective in treating the disease, he said that its misuse would rapidly lead to resistance of the drug.

One million deaths

While stressing the importance of saving lives of infected individuals, he said there was need to reduce the spread of the disease and prevent new cases.

Prof. Kafatos said malaria was a poverty associated disease.

One child succumbed to the disease every 30 seconds and about one million die every year, mostly in Africa, the European Research Council president said.

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