Monash scientists find way to starve malaria parasite

Melbourne, February 5: Scientists from the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, claim to have discovered an effective treatment for malaria that could lead to new and more effective drugs.

Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites and is one of the world's biggest killers. Hundreds of millions of people are infected. Malaria takes lives of more than a million people per year and many of them are kids under five. Moreover, there are growing fears that the disease is becoming increasingly resistant to conventional malaria treatments.

The scientists based at Monash University ARC Center of Excellence in Structural and Functional Microbial Genomics, have identified a chemical compound which effectively ‘switches off’ the parasite's digestion, leading to its death inside malaria infected mice in few days.

Professor James Whisstock from Monash University said, "It works by inhibiting the digestive machinery ... it puts a gastricdefine band on it."

"(The parasite) doesn't get any sustenance, it starves and dies," he added.

The latest identified compound perks up the prospect of a new cure for the infected and also a possible preventative treatment for populations in at risk areas.

Lead author Sheena McGowan of Monash University said, "We had an idea as to how malaria could be starved and we've shown this, chemically, can be done. A single bite from an infected mosquito transfers the malaria parasite into a human's blood stream."

"The malaria parasite must then break down blood proteins in order to obtain nutrients. Malaria carries out the first stages of digestion inside a specialised compartment called the digestive vacuole -- this can be considered to be like a stomach," she said.

Adding further Sheena said, "However, the enzyme we have studied (known as PfA-M1), which is essential for parasite viability, is located outside the digestive vacuole meaning it is easier to target from a drug perspective."

Malaria is a serious disease, which passes from one individual to another through infected mosquitoes (the Anopheles mosquito). When an infected mosquito bites you, it injects the malaria parasites into your blood. These parasites then travel through the bloodstream to the liver where they multiply. This is then followed by headaches, the nausea and the vomiting. If left untreated, it will disrupt the blood supply to vital organs and can even cause death.

The recent discovery might just give way to the long awaited sure shot protection against this deadly disease. The results were published in the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.