疟疾如何预防和治疗（疟疾没有停止传播）

疟疾如何预防和治疗（疟疾没有停止传播）"Here we characterise an apparently non-pathogenic microsporidian from field populations of Anopheles arabiensis [a species of mosquito] in Kenya " the team writes in a new paper.As a microbe that impairs Plasmodium transmission that is non-virulent and vertically transmitted Microsporidia MB could be investigated as a strategy to limit malaria transmission."研究团队在新的论文中写道：“现在我们研究了肯尼亚的

虽然目前新冠病毒是人们最关注的问题，但其他疾病同样也在传播，比如疟疾。

2018年，世界卫生组织就统计到了2.28亿例蚊媒疾病，造成了405000人死亡。

不过最近，有一项研究可能找到了一种全新且高效的方法阻止疟疾传播，而这个研究结果竟然跟蚊子有关？

研究团队在蚊子体内发现一种新型的孢子形成的单细胞微生物，称之为Microsporidia MB，它有阻止恶性疟原虫传播的惊人能力。疟原虫是引起大多数疟疾感染的寄生原生动物。

The team discovered that a new type of spore-forming single-celled microbe found in mosquitoes which they've called Microsporidia MB has the amazing ability to stop the transmission of Plasmodium falciparum – the parasitic protozoan which causes most malaria cases.

它似乎对蚊子没有伤害，如果我们能在当地蚊子种群中提高Microsporidia MB的感染率，就会成为阻止疟疾蔓延的好方法，还不会破坏生态系统的其他部分。

It also doesn't seem to hurt the mosquito meaning that if we can increase the prevalence of Microsporidia MB in local mosquito populations it could be a good way to stop malaria in its tracks without having to mess up the rest of the ecosystem.

研究团队在新的论文中写道：“现在我们研究了肯尼亚的阿拉伯按蚊（一种蚊子）野外种群中一种明显的非致病性小孢子虫。因为Microsporidia MB 是一种阻止疟原虫传播的微生物，它无毒而且垂直传播，所以可以用它来控制疟疾的传播。”

"Here we characterise an apparently non-pathogenic microsporidian from field populations of Anopheles arabiensis [a species of mosquito] in Kenya " the team writes in a new paper.As a microbe that impairs Plasmodium transmission that is non-virulent and vertically transmitted Microsporidia MB could be investigated as a strategy to limit malaria transmission."

认为蚊子体内微生物能阻止疾病传播的想法并不新鲜。沃尔巴克氏菌属细菌就是蚊子种群内自然产生的细菌，在消灭登革热和其他蚊媒传染病方面有惊人的潜力。

The idea that a mosquito microbe could be stopping the transmission of a disease isn't exactly new. Wolbachia a genus of bacteria that naturally occurs in mosquito populations has shown incredible potential for wiping out dengue and other mosquito-borne infections.

格拉斯哥大学微生物学家Steven Sinkins说：“我们已经在利用沃尔巴克氏菌这种阻碍传播的共生菌来控制登革热，这也是蚊子传播的病毒。Microsporidia MB共生菌有类似的特点，使我们很有信心地认为可以利用它研究控制疟疾的类似方法。”

"We are already using a transmission-blocking symbiont called Wolbachia to control dengue a virus transmitted by mosquitoes " University of Glasgow microbiologist Steven Sinkins says "The Microsporidia MB symbiont has some similar characteristics making it an attractive prospect for developing comparable approaches for malaria control."

这项研究目前处于初级阶段，但研究团队发现他们分析肯尼亚野外研究的蚊子时，带有Microsporidia MB的蚊子没有疟原虫。甚至在让它们吸食被感染的血液以后，带有Microsporidia MB的蚊子的感染风险也会下降，而且没有发现有疟原虫孢子虫的迹象。

This research is currently in its early stages – but the team found that when they analysed mosquitoes taken from field studies in Kenya those with Microsporidia MB did not have the malaria parasite. Even when they let the mosquitoes drink infected blood the mosquitoes with Microsporidia MB had reduced levels of infection and no signs of the malaria parasite's spores were detected.

通过更多研究，我们或许可以利用Microsporidia MB来控制疟疾，而这有可能成为疟疾预防的新方法。