Malaria, a disease transmitted by mosquitoes, is caused by a parasite spread through bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. If untreated, malaria can lead to severe symptoms, health issues, and even death.
A recent study published in Nature Communications titled “Estimating the effects of temperature on transmission of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum,” conducted by researchers from the University of Florida, Pennsylvania State University, and Imperial College, utilized innovative experimental data and modeling to explore how temperature impacts transmission risk in various African environments.
Matthew Thomas, a professor at UF/IFAS Invasion Science Research Institute (ISRI), highlighted the influence of temperature on key mosquito traits affecting disease transmission. Surprisingly, these temperature dependencies have not been adequately measured for primary malaria vectors in Africa.
Eunho Suh, along with Isaac Stopard, emphasized the significance of their findings on Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the primary malaria vector in Africa, in transmitting Plasmodium falciparum, the most common human malaria species in the region. Suh, an assistant research professor at Penn State, conducted the empirical research during his post-doctoral studies in Thomas’ lab at Imperial College.
2024-04-24 12:51:03
Original source: phys.org