Insecticide-based strategies such as long-lasting bed nets have been very effective in controlling the spread of malaria by targeting Anopheles mosquitoes that transmit Plasmodium parasites. However, the emergence of mosquitoes that are resistant to insecticides is contributing to the resurgence of malaria. Paton et al. now provide proof of concept for a novel control strategy that involves the incorporation of the antimalarial compound atovaquone into bed nets. They coated a glass surface with atovaquone, a potent cytochrome b inhibitor, and allowed female mosquitoes to rest on this surface; 6 minutes of exposure to atovaquone before or after infection with Plasmodium falciparum blocked parasite development in the mosquito midgut and prevented transmission. Thus, the addition of the antimalarial drug to insecticide-treated bed nets could be a promising transmission-blocking strategy.
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Paton, D. G. et al. Exposing Anopheles mosquitoes to antimalarials blocks Plasmodium parasite transmission. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-0973-1 (2019)
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Toit, A.d. Casting the net wide on malaria. Nat Rev Microbiol 17, 266 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-019-0180-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-019-0180-y