{"id":71924,"date":"2026-04-20T18:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71924"},"modified":"2026-04-20T18:20:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:50:35","slug":"gene-drives-malaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-04-2026\/gene-drives-malaria","title":{"rendered":"Gene Drives Transforming Malaria Control"},"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><strong>Gene drive technology<\/strong> is emerging as a novel approach to genetically modify mosquitoes to <strong>prevent the transmission of Malaria.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Global burden of Malaria<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the World malaria report, there were <strong>282 million cases<\/strong> of malaria in 2024, with an estimated number of malaria deaths standing at <strong>610 000.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The<strong> WHO African Region <\/strong>is home to about <strong>95% of all malaria cases <\/strong>and deaths. <strong>Children under 5 years of age <\/strong>accounted for <strong>about 76%<\/strong> of all malaria deaths in the Region.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are Gene Drives?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A gene drive is a <strong>genetic engineering technology <\/strong>that<strong> biases inheritance patterns,<\/strong> ensuring that a <strong>specific gene is passed<\/strong> on to a disproportionately large share of offspring.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It<strong> operates using CRISPR-Cas9<\/strong>, which enables precise modification and copying of genes during reproduction.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unlike normal inheritance where a gene has a 50% chance of transmission, gene drives can<strong> ensure inheritance rates exceeding 90%,<\/strong> allowing rapid spread through a population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tanzania \u2018Transmission Zero\u2019 Study<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genetically modified mosquitoes significantly <strong>inhibited parasite development<\/strong> when fed on blood samples from infected individuals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In several cases, <strong>parasites failed to reach the infectious stage<\/strong>, thereby preventing transmission.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the Concerns?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Scientific and Technical Challenges: <\/strong>The genetic diversity of malaria parasites requires multi-targeted interventions to prevent resistance. There is a <strong>possibility of evolutionary adaptation<\/strong> in both mosquitoes and parasites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ecological Risks: <\/strong>Altering or suppressing mosquito populations may have unintended <strong>ecological consequences<\/strong>, as mosquitoes play roles in <strong>food chains and ecosystems.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regulatory and Governance Challenges: <\/strong>Deployment requires robust biosafety frameworks, risk assessments, and global cooperation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p><strong>What is <strong>Malaria<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Malaria <\/strong>is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><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<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><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>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><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<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Symptoms:<\/strong> Fever and flu-like illness, including chills, headache, muscle ache and fatigue.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vaccine:<\/strong> Since 2021, WHO has recommended broad use of the <strong>RTS,S\/AS01 malaria vaccine<\/strong> among children living in regions with moderate to <strong>high P. falciparum malaria<\/strong> transmission.\u00a0\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2023, WHO recommended a second malaria vaccine, <strong>R21\/Matrix-M.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>India\u2019s Commitment and National Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India remains steadfast in its commitment to <strong>eliminate malaria by 2030, <\/strong>with the intermediate target of <strong>zero indigenous cases by 2027.<\/strong> The strategic roadmap for this mission is guided by:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The National Framework for Malaria Elimination in India (2016\u20132030)<\/strong> outlines the vision, goals, and targets for phased malaria elimination.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination (2023\u20132027)<\/strong> builds upon earlier frameworks and aligns with the <strong>WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016\u20132030.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c1a833\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"509\" height=\"628\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-115.png\" alt=\"india\u2019s commitment and national goals\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-71925\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c1a833; width:332px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-115.png 509w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-115-243x300.png 243w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 509px) 100vw, 509px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/science\/gene-drives-and-malaria-how-altered-mosquitoes-could-reshape-disease-control\/article70880179.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Gene drive technology is emerging as a novel approach to genetically modify mosquitoes to prevent the transmission of Malaria. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Global burden of Malaria <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> According to the World malaria report, there were 282 million cases of malaria in 2024, with an estimated number of malaria deaths standing at 610 000. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The WHO African Region is home to about 95% of all malaria cases and deaths. Children under 5 years of age accounted for about 76% of all malaria deaths in the Region. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-04-2026\/gene-drives-malaria \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71924","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\/71924","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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71924"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71928,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71924\/revisions\/71928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}