A new study has found that the role of chemicals is huge in attracting malaria disease-bearing mosquitoes towards human beings. Researchers have also identified that the deadly malaria parasites released by mosquitoes in the blood can penetrate cell walls by virtue of two special types of protein.
According to Phys.org, when a person goes down with malaria, the deadly parasite dubbed "Plasmodium falciparum" breaks through cell walls and multiplies inside the liver cells. However, this does not cause malaria at once. The malaria parasites then burst into the blood out of the liver cells and spread to the various parts of the body via blood. This gives rise to symptoms like fever, chills, fatigue paired with muscle and joint pains, which are assumed as the characteristics of malaria.
Malaria is considered to be one of the most deadly diseases, causing over 650000 deaths annually on an average. Mostly, pregnant women and children fall prey to this disease globally. Researchers are making their full efforts to use new methods of inventing a more effective and strong cure, thus breaking the cycle of infection caused by the malaria parasites.
According to SciDev.net, Plasmodium falciparum, the deadly malaria parasite gives rise to a chemical molecule dubbed HMBPP which infects the human body by stimulating the red blood cells and causes it to emit carbon dioxide and other various compounds. These compounds attract uninfected mosquitoes and let them spread the disease more efficiently, say the researchers.
Researchers opine that the HMBPP molecule does not only attract the mosquitoes but also brings the urge of drinking more blood into them. This enables the deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum to infect more persons and increase in number as well. Almost all species of mosquitoes react in the same way to the HMBPP molecule, says the study.
Understanding the HMBPP molecule and how it reacts with the blood cells of the infected person can bring out a feasible solution to the deadly disease, opine the researchers. Similarly, a detailed study of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and curbing its ability to get through liver cells can be fruitful to halt malaria, says the study.
