- Researchers at the University of Hyderabad have made a major breakthrough in malaria treatment.
- They have identified a chemical inhibitor which they say is equally effective against both drug-sensitive and multi-drug resistant malaria strains.
- This small chemical inhibitor is capable of blocking the DNA repair pathway which in turn kills the parasite known as Plasmodium falciparum.
- The use of the inhibitor in combination with either of two first-line malaria drugs namely artemisinin(ART) and chloroquine (CQ) might slightly bring down recovery time.
- Malaria is a disease caused by Plasmodium parasites that are transmitted to people through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- According to the World Malaria Report 2018,more than 200 million people were affected by malaria in 2017.India (4%) along with Nigeria Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and Uganda accounted for nearly 50% of all malaria cases worldwide.
