African scientists developed a new "gene drive tech" that could help them completely eradicate malaria across the region.
The Burkina Faso scientific experts, which included Dr. Abdoulaye Diabate, developed a novel technique that gives hope to wipe out the mosquito species responsible for spreading the deadly disease by altering their genes.
Eradicating Malaria in Africa
Diabate is the head of medical entomology and parasitology at Burkina Faso's Research Institute in Health Sciences. He was recently awarded the prestigious 2023 Falling Walls Prize for Science and Innovation Management for his research. Organizers hailed it as "offering hope for malaria control."
The scientific development comes as malaria remains a leading cause of death in Burkina Faso as nearly all of the West African country's 22 million population are at risk of contracting the mosquito-borne disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that malaria caused the death of roughly 19,000 people in Burkina Faso in 2021 alone, as per Interesting Engineering.
While there are traditional methods for reducing transmission of malaria, such as insecticide-treated bed nets, Diabate noted that the need for innovation is still high due to rising insecticide resistance and the rising cost of interventions.
The scientist said that while bed nets are doing a fantastic job in cutting malaria-related transmission and deaths, they are now seeing widespread insecticide resistance in various mosquito species. He noted that this was specifically true for the species that transmit the deadly disease.
This is where the innovative gene tech drive comes in that targets female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are the primary vectors of malaria. The new technique involves releasing sterile genetically modified male mosquitoes. They are prevented from producing female offspring when they mate with wild females. Over time, the female population will dwindle, thereby reducing malaria transmission.
During an interview, Diabate said that when gene-edited mosquitoes are released into the wild, they will continue to spread across the entire mosquito population and cut malaria transmission almost immediately, according to WION News.
Innovative Gene Drive Tech
He said that the genetically modified mosquitoes are the ones who do the job, unlike other malaria control interventions where humans are the ones running from place to place to deliver critical assistance.
The Burkina Faso scientist also said that the innovative method is more sustainable and more budget-friendly than other efforts. However, Diabate argued that the technology could still take several years before it is ready to be rolled out and used practically.
Malaria is also considered one of the leading causes of death in the wider African region, which shoulders the largest malaria burden in the world. The WHO warned that malaria-related deaths are still unacceptably high and that cases have continued to increase since 2015.
The global health agency said that an estimated 619,000 people died due to the deadly disease in 2021. The WHO added that roughly 96% of the fatalities happened in Africa and that 80% of the cases on the continent were among children under the age of five.
Diabate's vector control research alliance, Target Malaria, conducted the first phase of the project in 2019. At the time, they released Africa's pioneer batch of genetically edited mosquitoes in Bana, which is a village located in Western Burkina Faso, said CNN.
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