Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases
Control of Malaria
Human malaria is caused by four species of the protozoan parasite Plasmodium, all of which are transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes.
Worldwide prevalence of the disease is on the order of 350 to 500 million clinical cases each year, with an estimated 1.1 million
deaths. The vast majority of deaths occur among children under five years of age, especially in remote areas with poor access to
health services. For children who do survive, malaria drains vital strength, impairing their physical and intellectual development.
Malaria also causes severe anemia, a major factor contributing to the deaths during pregnancy.
EMD affiliated faculty are seeking to better understand both the mosquito and human ends of malaria to help develop treatment and control measures. Research in this area include:
- Studies focused on untangling the mechanisms by which host immunity converts from a protective response to one
producing disease. EMD faculty are pursuing the genetic epidemiology of the host cytokine MIF through a study of malaria
susceptibly in Zambia.
- Describing the host response to hemozoin, the malarial catabolite of hemoglobin and a “pathogen–associated molecular pattern” that stimulates innate immunity
- Studying the molecular evolution of genes involved in innate immunity of mosquitoes and their relationship with
the ability to transmit malaria
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