AMAZING FACT

Can bacteria prevent the spread of malaria? Michigan State University researchers have shown that the bacteria Wolbachia can actually prevent the transmission of malaria to humans by protecting mosquitoes from the malaria parasite. The researchers developed a strain of mosquitoes that were infected with Wolbachia bacteria. These mosquitoes transmitted the bacteria to the entire mosquito population providing protection against the malaria parasite.
According to researcher Zhiyong Xi, "Our work is the first to demonstrate Wolbachia can be stably established in a key malaria vector, the mosquito species Anopheles stephensi, which opens the door to use Wolbachia for malaria control." Once the mosquitoes gain immunity to the malaria parasite, they do not transmit malaria to humans.
Learn more about this study:

• Using Bacteria to Stop Malaria (Science Daily)