Malaria and more studied at EPI

September 23, 2008

The distance between Florida and far-off places is shrinking as global trade and travel import more products and people to our state from across the world. Unfortunately, new diseases may travel to our state along with these tourists. They may unwittingly bring malaria, or a plant or animal that transmits or carries a new pathogen. Endemic pathogens, like staph, become more virulent or drug resistant. These emerging pathogens eventually come to Florida and threaten people, horses, cattle, dogs, cats, bats, bees, citrus and oaks.

The newly formed Emerging Pathogens Institute (EPI), housed at the University of Florida, is bringing together researchers from diverse fields to identify and mitigate these threats.

I have a particular interest in malaria, which annually kills 1.2 million people. Sadly, most are African children. This humanitarian crisis attracts new research money, but there are also new challenges.

Today’s malaria parasites have evolved resistance to old antimalarial drugs. Recently I co-hosted a conference in South Africa to discuss strategies for making the most of new artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs), which can effectively treat the disease. Participants included scientists, representatives from foreign countries and international institutions, and topics spanned from basic science to operational challenges.

Malaria epidemiology is changing as national drug policies switch from failing drugs to ACTs and insecticide treated bed nets are mass distributed. I’m interested in understanding how nets and ACTs work together to reduce malaria risks in populations.

Malaria is one example of a pathogen that is of concern at the Emerging Pathogens Institute. Together, our researchers are working to protect Florida’s people, wildlife, agriculture and economy.
For more information on the malaria research, please visit:
www.koshlandscience.org/exhib
_infectious/malaria_vector_control
_01.jsp and 
www.map.ox.ac.uk.

David Smith,
Director of Disease Ecology,
Emerging Pathogens Institute