New malaria drug in the making?

The standard Newspaper reports that researchers at Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) are on the verge of a major breakthrough in the fight against malaria. It is reported that research on a plant, phytolacca dodecandra, found in Turkana District promises to produce an effective pesticide against mosquitoes.

According to one of the researchers Pamela Were, field tests have proved that the plant can kill mosquitoes in all their life stages; for example, it kills the mosquito larvae within ten hours of exposure. The plant is very effective in low doses and the chemical extracted from the plant has potential to be used as a pesticide.

The research is in the final stages and the researchers expect to patent and licence the invention in the course of next year.

According to a wikipedia entry, the plant Phytolacca dodecandra is variously known as endod, Gopo Berry, or African soapberry and is a trailing shrub or climber native to Africa. The plant is cultivated mainly in Ethiopia where it is used as a soap and shampoo as well as a poison to stun fish. The plant is lethal to snail - a fact discovered by Ethiopian scientists . After an Ethiopian scientist demonstrated the plants potency to American scientists, they took out a patent (US 5252330), hoping to sell it as a biological control for the Zebra mussel, a pest in the Great Lakes of the US and Canada.

Hopefully the Kenyan scientists will not demonstrate or have not demonstrated the potency of their research to the American Scientists.

Preventive treatment of Malaria reduces anaemia and improves classroom attention in school children

According to a research report published in the current issue of the Lancet, preventive treatment for malaria reduces the prevalence of malaria infection and anaemia among schoolchildren, and significantly improves their classroom attention. However, in contrast to a study done in Sri Lanka, the study did not find improvement in educational achievement among the children.

The study by a team of scientists from Kenya, UK and US, and funded by Gates malaria Partnership was carried out in 30 primary schools in Western Kenya among children aged 5-8 years who were given the treatment at 4 months interval.

The report further observes that even though some children did not complete the dose of treatment because of the bitter taste of the malarial drug amodiaquine, the outcome was similar among the children who received complete and incomplete treatment.

According to the report, the findings illustrate the “possible gains of integrating malaria control into broader school health programmes” and there may need for further research to investigate any long-term educational benefits.