{"id":33438,"date":"2024-12-09T18:42:43","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T13:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=33438"},"modified":"2025-02-01T17:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T11:32:16","slug":"preventing-malaria-genetically-modified-parasites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/09-12-2024\/preventing-malaria-genetically-modified-parasites","title":{"rendered":"Preventing Malaria Using Genetically Modified Malaria Parasites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Health, GS3\/ Science and Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In a radical approach, scientists have shifted their focus from genetic modification of malaria-causing mosquitoes to malaria-causing parasites.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Traditionally, efforts to control malaria have focused on mosquito vectors.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some key approaches include:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Radiation-Sterilised Mosquitoes:<\/strong> Release of sterilised male mosquitoes prevents fertilisation, reducing mosquito populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Slowing Parasite Growth in Mosquitoes:<\/strong> Genetic engineering slows the growth of Plasmodium parasites within mosquito guts, halting the transmission to humans.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Genetically Modified Mosquitoes:<\/strong> Mosquitoes are engineered to thrive and spread genetic resistance to Plasmodium parasites through mating, reducing transmission rates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Life Cycle of Malaria Parasite<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Malaria-causing parasites <strong>first enter the human liver<\/strong> after a mosquito bite.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Infection and symptoms occur only when the parasites move from the liver into the bloodstream.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How the Modification Works?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Immune Priming:<\/strong> Genetically modified parasites act like a vaccine, priming the immune system during the liver stage to shield individuals from future infections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Controlled Growth Arrest:<\/strong> Parasite growth is arrested on<strong> day six<\/strong> (late-arresting parasite), allowing sufficient time for immune system activation before the parasite is killed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Early vs. Late Arrest:<\/strong> Early arrest (day one) limits immune exposure, reducing effectiveness, whereas late arrest enhances immune priming for better protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Significance of the Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Vaccine-Like Effect: <\/strong>Genetically modified parasites act as a <strong>natural immune<\/strong> booster, providing protection similar to a vaccine.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Targeted Approach: <\/strong>Unlike methods focusing solely on mosquitoes, modifying parasites directly disrupts the Plasmodium life cycle, reducing the risk of disease.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Overcoming Resistance: <\/strong>With rising insecticide resistance in mosquitoes and drug resistance in parasites, this approach offers a promising alternative strategy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhanced Efficacy:<\/strong> Late-arresting parasites allow for stronger immune system activation, increasing the effectiveness of malaria prevention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges and Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Biosafety Issues:<\/strong> The release and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) carry biosafety risks that must be addressed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ethical Considerations:<\/strong> Genetic modification of parasites raises ethical questions about altering natural biological systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>What is Malaria?<\/strong><br><br>&#8211; <strong>Malaria <\/strong>is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries.<br>&#8211; <strong>Transmission: <\/strong>It is caused by <strong>plasmodium protozoa.<\/strong>The plasmodium parasites spread through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.Blood transfusion and contaminated needles may also transmit malaria.\u00a0<br>&#8211; <strong>Types of parasites: <\/strong>There are 5 Plasmodium parasite species that cause malaria in humans and 2 of these species \u2013 <strong>P. falciparum and P. vivax <\/strong>\u2013 pose the greatest threat. The other malaria species which can infect humans are <strong>P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi.<\/strong><br>1. <strong>P. falciparum is the deadliest malaria parasite<\/strong> and the most prevalent on the African continent. P. vivax is the dominant malaria parasite in most countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa.\u00a0\u00a0<br>&#8211; <strong>Symptoms:<\/strong> Fever and flu-like illness, including chills, headache, muscle ache and fatigue.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/hindu.com\/sci-tech\/science\/preventing-malaria-using-genetically-modified-malaria-parasites\/article68955241.ece#:~:text=Genetically%20modified%20malaria-causing%2\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a radical approach, scientists have shifted their focus from genetic modification of malaria-causing mosquitoes to malaria-causing parasites.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33438"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36615,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33438\/revisions\/36615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}