Prior studies have identified CTL4, a protein with multiple, partly unknown functions in Anopheles mosquitoes, as a possible target for mosquito alteration. Scientists have also focused on the mosquito-to-human transmission chain, researching ways to make mosquitoes more resistant to malaria parasites. Malaria control relies on a mix of preventive measures and treatments, including mosquito nets, insecticides, antimalarial drugs and, as of last year, vaccination. In 2020, it caused an estimated 241 million cases and 627,000 deaths, mostly among children age five and under, according to the World Health Organization. Malaria remains one of the world’s major diseases. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology and deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. “Doing this with a mosquito population in the wild might be all you need to eliminate malaria in that region.” “Compared to most other gene-manipulation or genetic engineering strategies that have been studied, these results are really potent-and promising,” says study senior author George Dimopoulos, PhD, professor in the Bloomberg School’s W. The findings are published online January 26 in PLOS Biology. The researchers believe that targeting the CTL4 protein could be the basis for new strategies to control malaria in regions where it is still endemic. The researchers found that disrupting the CTL4 protein brought a 64 percent decrease in infection prevalence.

This deletion made the mosquitoes highly resistant to the malaria parasite. In a lab experiment, the researchers used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology to delete the gene for a protein called CTL4 from Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes. Soil type impact malaria prevalence, by shortening or extending the lifespan of mosquito breeding sites.Blocking a key protein found in Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes- the principal vector for malaria transmission to humans in Africa- could thwart infection with malaria parasites and thus prevent them from transmitting the parasites to humans, according to a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.Human settlements closer to the water would be exposed to more mosquitoes than those further away. Water bodies are breeding sites, and mosquitoes do not move away from the breeding site when they can feed. Larger distances from water bodies correlates with lower malaria prevalence.However, with higher rainfall, larvae are washed away by running water, which reduces the chances of disease transmission. Some rainfall is favorable to mosquitoes as it increases ponds and puddles used for breeding. High rainfall correlates with lower malaria transmission.The higher the temperature, the lower the prevalence of malaria, as the number of infected mosquitoes decreases with temperature increases.

This can be explained by the fact that dense and high vegetation prevents the spread of Anopheles, providing them with a screen on which they land.

Higher vegetation density correlates with lower malaria transmission.

Malaria transmitted