There were three articles this week in Malaria World related to Ghana. Two articles related to vaccination programmes. A retrospective assessment of a pilot RTS,S rollout in in 2019-2021 (Adjei et al) did not even attempt to examine if the vaccine actually worked at preventing the target disease. It just examined its administration. And despite […]
Author: ulick
Malaria in India
An article referenced in Malaria World this week is A historical perspective of malaria policy and control in India by Sam et al. India is important in the history of the medical establishment malaria transmission narrative because it was where Ronald Ross, the British Army medic who supposedly demonstrated the mosquito plasmodium connection, carried out […]
Malaria Reduction in Ghana – By Combating Mosquitos or Improved Nutrition?
In Malaria World this week there is a link to a communication by epidemiologist, Prof. Fred Binka, who urges the Ghana government to prioritise investment in malaria research. He is advocating for investment in new tools and technologies that could cut down on the reproduction and transmission of mosquito, the vector, he claims, spreads malaria. […]
Mosquito Saliva Analysis
The underlying theory of malaria transmission and the transmission of other diseases by mosquito vectors is that germs enter the female mosquito as part of a blood meal and then develop further in the mosquito before moving to the salivary glands of the animal. When the mosquito bites again, it injects a little saliva that […]
West Nile Virus is spread by Mosquitos?
One of the issues with the belief that malaria is spread by mosquitos is the willingness of many to believe that other diseases are spread by mosquitos. Over the recent labor day weekend in USA there was a scare about West Nile Virus covered sensationally in main stream media. The news articles are the usual […]
Indoor Residual Spraying
Malaria World this week has a review article by Irish et al published in Malaria Journal, ‘A review of selective indoor residual spraying for malaria control’. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is described by the authors as one of the most effective malaria control tools. However, its application has become limited to specific contexts due to […]
Malaria and Mining
In my book ‘Malaria is spread by mosquitos?’ I made the point that even within the vast quantity of peer reviewed research focusing on supporting the conventional mosquito-plasmodium narrative there are hints to what might really be causing the illness. And one reference this week in Malaria World is an example – ‘Close Proximity to […]
Gene Drives in the Malaria Toolkit!
The Johns Hopkins Malaria Minute asks if genetic approaches could be a sharper tool in the ‘malaria toolkit’ to go with old standbys like bed nets and indoor residual spraying. Its quotes Dr Damaris Matoka-Muhia of the Kenya Medical Research Institute who considers gene drives a potentially sustainable, long-term, and cost-effective solution for malaria – […]
GAVI – Poisoning Children in the Developing World?
In Malaria World this week there is a press release from GAVI about Mozambique introducing malaria vaccines into routine immunisation. GAVI describes the vaccine as lifesaving and a critical step forward to revitalize the fight against malaria and improve children’s survival. The vaccine introduced in the childhood vaccination schedule in Mosambique is the same R21 […]
Bedbugs and Cockroaches
This week malaria world featured an interesting article about the ‘collateral damage’ caused by insecticides used against mosquitos and how the effect on nuisance insects is a major reason people continued to use insecticide treated nets. The authors are concerned that the development of resistance by bedbugs and cockroaches to the insecticides usually used on […]