Global Malaria News

LONDON (Reuters) - An experimental Novartis drug can clear malaria infection in mice with a single dose and scientists say it shows promise as a possible future treatment for one of the world's major killer diseases. (Source: Reuters: Health)

A chemical that rid mice of malaria-causing parasites after a single oral dose may eventually become a new malaria drug if further tests in animals and people uphold the promise of early findings. The compound, NITD609, was developed by an international team of researchers including Elizabeth A. Winzeler, Ph.D., a grantee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. (Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases)

Some of the malaria drugs given to Africa by international donors are "being stolen and resold on commercial markets," according to a study to be released Thursday in the journal Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine, the Associated Press reports. "During three periods from 2007 to 2010, American and British experts bought malaria medicines randomly from private pharmacies in 11 African cities. Of the 894 samples, they found 58, or 6.5 percent, were supposed to have been donated to government hospitals and clinics," according to the news service... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Millions of free malaria drugs are sent to Africa every year by international donors. New research is now providing evidence for what health workers have long suspected: some of the donated medication is being stolen and resold on commercial markets. (Source: CTV Health)

Ritah Sanyu wailed when a private clinic attendant asked her to raise Shs12,000 for the required malaria treatment prescribed for her critically ill son. She had just left a public health centre where the son was examined and referred to Mulago Referral Hospital because the centre was short of essential drugs. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)

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The National Malaria Control Programme has registered great success in reducing the burden of Malaria in The Gambia. (Source: AllAfrica News: Malaria)

(Scripps Research Institute) An international team led by scientists from the Scripps Research Institute, the Swiss Tropical Institute, the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation and the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases has discovered a promising new drug candidate that represents a new class of drug to treat malaria. Clinical trials for the compound are planned for later this year. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)

(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) A chemical that rid mice of malaria-causing parasites after a single oral dose may eventually become a new malaria drug if further tests in animals and people uphold the promise of early findings. The compound, NITD609, was developed by an international team of researchers including Elizabeth A. Winzeler, Ph.D., a grantee of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)

(Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research) Published this week in Science the findings demonstrate that the antimalarial candidate, spiroindolone NITD609, is effective against both strains of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium (P.) falciparum and P. vivax. Through a novel mechanism NITD609 rapidly clears plasmodium in a malaria mouse model and shows pharmacological properties compatible with a once-daily dosing regimen. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)

In the lead-up to TEDxChange, a TED event focused on the progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, Melinda Gates blogged about our work on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation site.

In her post, Melinda noted: Malaria No More, one of our grantees, is taking a creative approach to raising awareness about malaria. They’ve been a fantastic partner–find out more about them from this GOOD profile of their work. They’re working with the Senegalese singing sensation Youssou N’Dour to educate people through his song “Xeex Sibbiru.” The song–whose title translates “Fight Malaria” in Wolof (a language spoken in several African countries)–encourages listeners to take action against malaria. They’ve also launched an American Idol-style singing contest. The campaign encouraged musicians to write songs to raise awareness about malaria.

A few years ago, Bill and I challenged the health field to set a goal of eventually eradicating malaria. With inspirational examples such as these, it’s clear the world is making great progress against this disease. That’s why we remain optimistic that the goal of eradication will ultimately be met.

We’re grateful for Melinda’s GOOD words and look forward to attending the TEDxChange Webcast on September 20th. You too can RSVP here.

It now appears that the malaria mosquito relies on a battery of different types of odor sensors to mediate its most critical behaviors, including how to choose and locate their blood-meal hosts. In an article to be published next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, researchers at Vanderbilt University have characterized two families of molecular odorant sensors in Anopheles gambiae, the mosquito responsible for the majority of human malaria transmission... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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The malaria mosquito needs more than one family of odor sensors to sniff out its human prey, new research suggests. New research provides striking new evidence that Anopheles gambiae -- the species of mosquito that spreads malaria that infects some 250 million and kills 900,000 people annually -- has a second set of olfactory sensors that are fundamentally different from the set of sensors that scientists have known about and have been studying for the last 10 years. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

(Swedish Research Council) Counterfeiting of drugs is a huge industry with an annual turnover of more than SEK 500 billion ($68.8 billion). In Africa the situation is extremely serious. Half of the malaria medication sold there could be ineffective or even harmful. Researchers from Lund and the UK have now developed a technique that could resolve the situation. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

(Journal of Clinical Investigation) This release contains summaries, links to PDFs, and contact information for the following newsworthy papers to be published online, Sept. 1, 2010, in the JCI: "Protecting nerve cells from death in a model of stroke"; "Modified adenovirus malaria vaccine works a treat in mice"; "Mechanisms of testicular cancer drug resistance"; "Pacifying protein levels to treat diabetes"; "Preemptive approach to decreasing scarring in the heart"; and others. (Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer)

LONDON (AP) — Millions of free malaria drugs are sent to Africa every year by international donors. New research is now providing evidence for what health workers have long suspected: some of the donated medication is being stolen and resold on... (Source: OrlandoSentinel: Medical Research)

Reports of life-threatening reactions to the off-label use of the malaria drug quinine sulfate (Qualaquin) to treat nighttime leg cramps has led the Food and Drug Administration to issue a warning on the use of the drug. (Source: Clinical Neurology News)

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Experts warn of people’s hazardous desire for a tanRelated items from OnMedicaParents unsure of HPV vaccine for daughters Low IQ second strongest predictor of heart diseaseCancer survivors most at risk are more likely to smokeVaccine linked to earlier onset of seizures in Dravet syndromeMost UK malaria is from family visits abroad (Source: OnMedica Latest News)

As you may have read on Buzzwords back in March, Ara Parikh and students at Deerfield Beach High School hosted dodge ball tournaments to bounce malaria. So far, $4000 has been raised for charities, including MNN. And, as if that news wasn’t good enough, we got to spend a week with Ara. Here’s what she had to say about her stay:

Dodge Malaria was a great success, and when I called to thank the supportive MNM staff, they asked if I’d be interested in visiting their New York office. I jumped at the chance!

Last month I spent a week shadowing Marisa Kleinman, probably the nicest person you’ll ever meet! I was able to interact with the entire Marketing and Communications team, who filled me in on their latest projects and then put me to work on the Stayin’ Alive campaign, which is all about students taking action by dedicating a dance or other event to the fight against malaria.

While the office is constantly a buzz (pun intended!) with hard work, there’s always a degree of fun. On Fridays, the team comes together for Bagels and Brainstorming, where they discuss their craziest ideas over breakfast.

My week at MNM was illuminating. I learned about the inner workings of a nonprofit organization and got great suggestions for future Dodge Malaria events. But, most importantly, the week reinforced my passion to do all that I can to help fight malaria.

Last week, the government launched a programme that will see the cost of malaria drugs drop by more than 90 per cent in the private sector. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)

(Vanderbilt University) It now appears that the malaria mosquito needs more than one family of odor sensors to sniff out its human prey. That is the implication of new research into the mosquito's sense of smell published in the Aug. 31 issue of the online, open-access journal PLoS Biology. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)