Killing mosquitoes with our own blood
The project Malaria MISSION seeks to fund the second part of the pre-clinical essay through a crowdfunding campaign.
A group of researchers from the Clínica Universidad de Navarra is working on the development of a silicone implant to stop malaria transmission.
After financing the first part of the study through a crowdfunding campaign, the researchers have obtained very favorable preliminary results. Now, they have launched a new campaign to raise the necessary funds to extend the study.
You can collaborate with the project Malaria MISSION on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. The deadline to do so ends next June 9 and contributions can be made from 1$. University students and professionals who contribute 5 euros will receive a Malaria MISSION wristband.
The goal initial fundraising is US$ 35,000, which would finance the second phase of the current one-year pre-clinical essay .
Contribution to antimalaria control"Once proven safe and effective, our implant could constitute a significant contribution to the control measures currently used in the fight against malaria," explains Dr. Carlos Chaccour, coordinator of the study and member of the Internal Medicine department of the Clínica Universidad de Navarra.
The impant is a 2 mm diameter silicone cylinder that would be placed subcutaneously in the arm using a syringe. The implant is a combination of silicone and ivermectin, a safe and widely used drug in the tropics for the control of various parasitic diseases. The implant has been developed in California under the direction of the team leading the study and is currently in the pre-clinical research phase.
 |
|
sample of the implant against malaria transmission in a girl's hand. PHOTO: Courtesy |
The goal of the implant is to cover the lack of interventions directed towards the important group of mosquitoes biting outside the house. The most effective control measures currently used, mosquito nets and residual insecticides such as DDT, have a selective effect against indoor biting mosquitoes. In addition, malaria control has been hampered by the emergence of mosquitoes resistant to the most commonly used insecticides. Innovative tools are needed.
Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus plasmodium and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Every year more than 200 million people worldwide contract the disease and nearly 700,000 die as a result, equivalent to 100% of the population of Athens. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, malaria kills one child every minute. The implant could eventually help control mosquitoes that feed on the blood of infected people and thus prevent the spread of resistant parasites.
Malaria MISSION in...
