Context
Preventing malaria using genetically modified parasites
About Malaria (Read more):
- Caused by the Plasmodium parasite
- Transmitted to humans through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
- Symptoms include fever, chills, headaches, fatigue, and nausea, and can progress to more severe complications such as organ failure or death.
Methods for Malaria Control
- Radiation-Sterilized Male Mosquitoes
- Male mosquitoes are sterilized using radiation.
- These sterilized males mate with females, but no offspring are produced, reducing the mosquito population.
- This method prevents the spread of malaria by reducing the number of malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
- Genetic Engineering of Mosquitoes
- Two approaches are used in genetically engineered mosquitoes:
- Genetic modification to slow the growth of malaria-causing parasites in the mosquito’s gut, preventing transmission to humans.
- Genetic modification to spread resistance to malaria parasites by altering the mosquito’s genes so they can thrive and reproduce without transmitting the disease.
- Two approaches are used in genetically engineered mosquitoes:
- Genetically Modified Malaria-Causing Parasites
- Genetic modification of malaria parasites is a new approach where scientists alter the parasites to prevent disease by priming the immune system before they enter the bloodstream.
- These late-arresting parasites grow in the liver for several days before they are killed, providing enough time to prime the immune system to fight off the infection when mosquitoes carrying unmodified parasites bite again.
- Early-arresting parasites, which are killed earlier, do not prime the immune system as effectively.
- Advantages of the Genetic Modification Method
- Improved protection: Late-arresting parasites offer better protection than radiation-attenuated sporozoites(50% to 90% protection with higher doses of mosquito bites).
- More efficient: Requires fewer mosquito bites to provide protection, as opposed to high doses needed in radiation-attenuated sporozoite methods.
About Wolbachia
- Wolbachia is a bacterium that infects many insect species, including mosquitoes.
- It has been used in mosquito control efforts by making mosquitoes resistant to malaria-causing parasites.
- Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are incapable of transmitting malaria, as the bacterium interferes with the parasite’s development inside the mosquito.
- While Wolbachia does not directly connect to the genetic modification of malaria-causing parasites in this context, it is another tool in the broader mosquito control effort.
Source: TH
Previous Year Question
‘Wolbachia method’ is sometimes talked about with reference to which one of the following?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2023 Prelims]
(a) Controlling the viral diseases spread by mosquitoes
(b) Converting crop residues into packing material
(c) Producing biodegradable plastics
(d) Producing biochar from thermo-chemical conversion of biomass
Answer: (a)
