Researchers Learn How to Kill Malaria Parasite

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have identified a specific sugar that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum uses exclusively for food. Without the sugar, found in the midgut of mosquitos, the parasite dies.

"This is the mosquito gut, filled with blood," demonstrates Professor Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena, the senior author of the research. He says that by stopping the production of that sugar, the parasite dies.

It's an important discovery but still to be identified is a way to deny the parasite any access to the sugar. One suggestion is to develop a human vaccine with antibodies to block sugar production in the mosquito. The antibody would be ingested by the mosquito when it feeds on human blood.

Jacobs-Lorena says it will take at least a decade to find practical applications of the discovery.

A while back, I recall reading somewhere that 90 percent of all the people who have lived in human history have died of malaria. The contention is arguable and I don't remember the source, but it's not arguable that malaria has been a menace to mankind. Kudos to the scientists at Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute for their efforts.