Malaria: progress, perils, and prospects for eradication

Abstract

There are still approximately 500 million cases of malaria and 1 million deaths from malaria each year. Yet recently, malaria incidence has been dramatically reduced in some parts of Africa by increasing deployment of antimosquito measures and new artemisinin-containing treatments, prompting renewed calls for global eradication. However, treatment and mosquito control currently depend on too few compounds and thus are vulnerable to the emergence of compound-resistant parasites and mosquitoes. As discussed in this Review, new drugs, vaccines, and insecticides, as well as improved surveillance methods, are research priorities. Insights into parasite biology, human immunity, and vector behavior will guide efforts to translate parasite and mosquito genome sequences into novel interventions.

Antimalarial 4(1H)-pyridones bind to the Q i site of cytochrome bc 1

“…In 2012 there were an estimated 219 million cases, from which there were over half a million deaths, the majority of which were pregnant women and children under 5 (1). Eradication programs have had some success in reducing malaria mortality through targeting the mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae and the development of a Plasmodium vaccine continues to show promise (2)(3)(4). Despite this success, incidence of chloroquine, artemisinin, and multidrug resistant strains of the Plasmodium parasite and of Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal strains of malaria, have been reported and appear to be rising (5)(6)(7).…”

Biosynthesis of GDP-fucose and Other Sugar Nucleotides in the Blood Stages of Plasmodium falciparum

“…The implementation of new approaches to prevent and fight malaria has greatly benefited from the sequencing of the parasite genome (4) and the development of improved tools for functional genomics (5)(6)(7)(8). However, this area of research remains greatly limited by our incomplete knowledge of parasite biology (9). Therefore, it is critical to promote research efforts that probe the basic biochemistry and cell biology of Plasmodium with the aim of characterizing essential proteins, metabolic pathways, and other processes that could be suitable for intervention and to validate new candidate drug targets.…”

Malaria Control in Nigeria

“…The reality is that in the poorest, rural areas, where malaria takes its highest toll, it is difficult to obtain accurate data and to derive meaningful malaria statistics. During their illness, many patients struggle, often unsuccessfully to access basic health care [1,[4][5][6]. For those that succeed, the care may be of dubious quality and ineffective [1].…”

“…The dramatic success of these measures in a few specific areas, such as KwaZulu in South Africa [9], Eritrea [10], and the Tanzanian Island of Zanzibar [11], has inspired a new call for global eradication [4]. Achieving this ambitious goal depends on the development of new tools to treat, prevent and monitor malaria [3,4]. Furthermore, the recent availability of genome sequences for humans, Anopheles mosquitoes, and Plasmodium parasites has raised hopes of molecular diagnosis of the disease coupled with vaccine development.…”