Fighting Malaria with Mathematical Models

Fighting Malaria with Mathematical Models

Scientists have created a mathematical model to predict genetic resistance to antimalarial drugs in Africa, addressing one of the greatest threats to global malaria contro.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites and transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoe.

In a study published today in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, an international team of researchers used data from the World Malaria Network (WWARN), a scientifically independent global collaboration, to map The prevalence of genetic markers that indicate resistance to Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malari.

The study's lead author, Associate Professor Jennifer Flegg from the University of Melbourne, said that malaria has a devastating impact on low-income countries and effective treatment is key to its eliminatio.

"The antimalarial drug sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is commonly used in various malaria prevention treatment programmes in Africa, especially in infants, young children and during pregnanc.

"The statistical mapping tool we developed is critical for health organizations to understand the spread of antimalarial drug resistanc.

"Health agencies can use this tool to understand when and where SP is appropriate as a partial prophylactic treatment for malaria, and where other antimalarial approaches may need to be explore.

Professor Karen Barnes, Director of Pharmacology and Elimination at the World Malaria Alert, said demand for malaria chemoprophylaxis (drugs that prevent malaria infection) was increasing rapidly, but existing treatment options were limite.

Professor Barnes said: "This timely evidence on the extent of SP resistance across Africa will help to understand where SP prophylaxis, alone or in combination with other antimalarial drugs, is most likely to have the greatest impac.

Professor Feiko ter Kuile, head of the WWARN Pregnancy Malaria Science Group, said that updated models of SP resistance in Africa are long overdu.

"Understandably, much of the resistance profile focuses on the emergence of resistance to artemisinin-based antimalarial drugs for the treatment of malari.

"This study combines all available SP resistance data over the past 20 years in one mode.

"This research tool should help guide health policy and bring the World Health Organization one step closer to its ambitious goal of eliminating malaria by 2030," Associate Professor Flegg sai.

The team included researchers from the Universities of Melbourne, Oxford, Johnson .

The research was supported by funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Smith Institute for Applied Research and the Australian Research Counci.