Scientists have utilized mosquitoes for malaria vaccination efforts.

Since malaria remains one of the most dangerous diseases for humanity, researchers have been striving for many years to find an effective method for its prevention. Perhaps the key lies in the very cause of the disease.

The study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Malaria is an illness caused by parasitic protozoa such as Plasmodium falciparum. These organisms enter the human body through the bites of malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

Current vaccines typically demonstrate effectiveness ranging from 30% to 80%, prompting the search for new technologies. In this new study, scientists proposed using two genetically modified versions of the parasite, designed to halt development after 24 hours and 6 days, respectively.

During the experiment, volunteers were divided into three groups, which received the first and second variants, as well as a placebo. Interestingly, the researchers used actual mosquitoes to deliver the "vaccine."

The unusual vaccination occurred in three stages with a 28-day interval, after which the volunteers were infected with the malaria pathogen to test their immune response.

It turned out that in the case of the parasite that lasted 6 days, 8 out of 9 volunteers gained protection against the infection. In other cases, the results were significantly more modest.

As for side effects, apart from the typical consequences of mosquito bites, none were identified. The new vaccination method demonstrated an effectiveness of 89%, indicating significant potential for the development of this technology.

It is quite unusual that scientists chose to deliver weakened plasmodia using live mosquitoes; however, this is likely due to the complexities involved in manufacturing and storing the vaccine, rather than the final method of delivering the parasite. Therefore, while the idea of using mosquitoes sounds intriguing, it is unlikely to be realized in practice, at least in the foreseeable future.

The reasons for this are not only the technological challenges related to the genetic modification of mosquitoes but also the unpredictability of their behavior, along with certain ethical nuances such as the lack of consent for vaccination. Furthermore, the process would be incredibly costly.

In any case, testing the new method of combating malaria is still in very early stages, and scientists wish to conduct larger-scale trials before drawing conclusions about its effectiveness.

As previously reported, a Croatian scientist injected herself with a cocktail of dangerous viruses to eliminate cancer. Surprisingly, she succeeded.