Defeating malaria is one of the absolute health priorities at a global level: caused by parasites whose main carrier are the stings of mosquito, this disease does almost 600,000 victims per year and makes you sick 263 million people. One of the problems of recent years is that Mosquitoes that survive insecticides are developing an ever higher resistance to these chemicalsmaking them less effective. Now, a study published on Nature It presents the promising results of a test on a new mix of anti -malarical compounds, which kill parasites, but not mosquitoes.
Mosquito nets they no longer hold. The study recalls that the progress made in the second half of the last century to prevent malaria have been almost completely vanified by the last twenty years, during which many mosquitoes have begun to develop resistance to insecticides, making them less and less effective. In this way, one of the main methods of prevention against mosquitoes has lost power and therefore malaria: Bed mosquito nets.
It is a simple and very effective method to prevent mosquito bites, and in the areas of the planet where malaria is more widespread Mosquito nets are usually treated with insecticideswhich keep the insects further at a distance. But since these chemicals are losing effectiveness, mosquito nets are less and less useful to prevent infections.
Effective and economic. The new compound tested by an international team of the Harvard THharole School of Public Health is a mix of 22 different substancestwo of which in particular proved to be extremely active and effective in killing the parasites that cause malaria: sprayed on bed mosquito nets, The mixture killed 100% of the plasmodes.
Not only that: the mosquitoes remained immune to the effects of the mix. It might seem bad news, in reality, as you will already imagine, it is excellent: If the mosquitoes do not die there is no risk that the surviving those develop resistance to the substance, reducing their effectiveness. The authors of the study also point out that the compound they discovered is inexpensive to produceand it would take little to introduce it to the bed mosquito net.
