Malaria is increasingly becoming a major public health threat, causing nearly 3 million deaths annually. To add to the concerns, the parasites are getting resistant to the emerging drug and insecticides. This growing problem rightly emphasizes the urgent need for effective new vaccines.
Spreading awareness against mosquito bites is no new effort in malaria-prone regions. But, there are also mosquito-infested regions where cases of malaria are rare. True, there too you need to keep away from those painful bites. But, here is an amazing finding that may provide you a breath of relief, if at least not from mosquito bites!
Ah! If you can take a few of the bites, you may get immune to future infections! Yes, according to a new study, it is found that bites from mosquitoes not infected with malaria may develop an immune response that can limit parasite development after being bitten by infected mosquitoes.
It has been found that mice pre-exposed to uninfected mosquito bites had reduced parasite burdens in their liver, compared to the ones not exposed to. They were also found to remain lower during the blood-stage of the life cycle of infection.
But, that doesn’t mean, you should keep yourself exposed to mosquito-bites indiscriminately. Just rest assured, if one bitten and did not cause malaria, it is for your future ‘benefit’.