The challenge
Malaria interventions are becoming less effective as mosquitos develop resistance to insecticides and barrier-based controls.
The solution
Imperial researchers have developed a two-part technology to curb the spread of malaria.
The impact
This self-sustaining, cost-effective and environmentally friendly technology could reduce malaria in high-risk countries, saving hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
Malaria is endemic to 85 countries but 95% of cases are in Africa. Most of the 600,000 deaths globally also occur on the continent, the majority (80%) of which are children under the age of five. Transmission Zero is an Imperial College London-led multidisciplinary team that develops new ways to halt the spread of the disease.
Despite numerous efforts to curb the deadly disease, progress against malaria has stalled. Interventions have traditionally focused on insecticides to kill mosquitos and bed nets to prevent bites, but the efficacy of these methods is decreasing due to insecticide-resistance and behavioural adaptations. Meanwhile, the access to and cost of malaria vaccines make them inaccessible for many people.
A collaborative effort to curb malaria
Transmission Zero was established in 2016 to develop new ways to halt the spread of malaria. Co-led by Imperial researchers and the Ifakara Health Institute and National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania, in collaboration with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, this international research programme brings together these institutions’ strengths to combat the disease. Nikolai Windbichler is a Reader in Genetics at Imperial College London, and he said: “The programme leverages the strengths of our African partner institutions in vector biology and ecology, and Imperial’s expertise in molecular biology and genetics to build these new, first-class tools”.
Gene drive technology in action
Transmission Zero has developed a two-part technology to curb the spread of malaria. The first part renders a mosquito unable to transmit the malaria parasite, while the second part uses a gene drive. This new technology propagates a specific trait through a population without killing them, while ensuring that future generations of mosquitoes are also resistant to the parasite. Having developed the method, Imperial researchers worked with partners in Tanzania to enable them to take ownership of the technology and recreate it on their home soil.
Looking towards a Malaria-free future
In 2023, Transmission Zero researchers at the Ifakara Health Institute made the first ever transgenic mosquito in Africa, a huge milestone towards trialling the technology in the field. The technology offers an environmentally friendly, economically viable and equitable intervention to curb the spread of malaria, particularly in rural, under-resourced areas.
The Global Development Hub published a STEM for Development Impact Memo on the work. You can read the memo here.