Scientists discover bacteria that stops malaria transmission, by sheer chance

Scientists discovered a naturally occurring strain of bacteria which will be able to stop the transmission of malaria from mosquitoes to humans. The bacteria was discovered by chance after a colony of mosquitoes failed to develop the malaria parasite in one experiment.

The researchers said that the bacteria can act as a new tool for eradicating one of the oldest diseases in the world, which has been taking the lives of more than 600,000 people every year.

The discovery was made by the scientists at a research facility in Spain, which is run by the GSK pharmaceutical company after they noticed that a colony of mosquitoes which were being used for drug development had stopped the transfer of malaria.

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"The infection rate in the mosquitoes started dwindling and so by the end of the year the mosquitoes just would not be infected with the malaria parasite," said Dr Janneth Rodrigues, who headed the programme, while speaking to BBC.

Frozen samples lead to new discovery

The samples were frozen by the team from their 2014 experiment and went back to them after two years, through which they made the new discovery.

The studies further revealed that a specific strain of bacteria - TC1, which is present naturally in the environment had stopped the malaria parasites’ development in the gut of the mosquitoes.

"Once it colonises the mosquito, it lasts for the entire lifespan," said Dr Rodrigues to BBC. "And we found out that, yes, it is the bacteria which was responsible for reducing transmission in those mosquitoes,” he added.

According to the new data which was published in Science magazine, a mosquito's parasite load can be reduced by around 73 per cent by the bacteria.

The bacteria function by secreting a small molecule, which is known as harmane, and inhibits the early stages of growth of the malaria parasite in the mosquito's gut.

The GSK scientists, in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University, discovered that either harmane can be ingested orally by the mosquito, if it is mixed with sugar, or is absorbed through its cuticle on contact.

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End the threat

More trials are now being carried out at a contained field research facility which is called MosquitoSphere in Burkina Faso to assess how safe and effective it is to use harmane in the real world.

Gareth Jenkins, who is associated with the charity Malaria No More, said that the new discovery appears promising.

"Malaria kills a child every minute. Significant progress has been made in reducing the global burden of malaria, but to get us back on track we need new and innovative tools in the arsenal. With a strong innovation pipeline, it is possible to end the threat of malaria in our lifetimes,” he said.

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