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Editorial

The fight against malaria

Malaria is one of the most common diseases in tropical regions. It’s also one of the most difficult to combat. New instances of malaria transmitted by mosquitoes have increased eightfold in the last 40 years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Climate change has only exacerbated the situation, creating ideal temperatures for mosquitoes to thrive and spread the disease. Providing information and education on malaria’s early warning signals is crucial to staving off an epidemic. This week, Global Ideas focuses on a new project in Kenya that shows how young people can play a powerful role in raising awareness about the disease. We also visit the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg which conducts cutting-edge malaria research.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    The culprit

    The anopheles mosquito transmits malaria. Through a simple bite, it transfers parasites into a host body. There are more than 200 strains of malaria around the world, five of which are deadly to humans.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    The larvae

    At the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, researchers are focusing on malaria. They breed mosquitos, using a sieve spoon to fish out larvae from water.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Mosquitoes in nets

    The freshly-hatched mosquitoes buzz around in nets, and researchers remove them as needed. These mosquitoes only carry a rodent strain of malaria that is not dangerous to humans.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    All sorted out

    At the BNI labs, researchers analyze the various strains and forms of malaria including the “tropica” strain that poses the greatest danger to humans.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Water gun experiment

    Malaria researcher Iris Bruchhaus separates the different stages of the malaria parasite Plasmodium from each other. She does so with the help of this VarioMac Separator and a pipette that looks like a water gun.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Infected blood

    She takes some blood during the first sample…

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Pathogens drawn in by magnets

    ... And injects the blood at the top of the machine. The magnetic iron column separates the early stages of the infected red blood cells from the final stages. As the pathogen multiplies in the body’s cells, it eats the cells but not the hemoglobin within it. Iron deposits build up in the cells and they’re then drawn in by magnets.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Dead pathogens

    Red blood cells that are uninfected or where the pathogens are in the early stages of development flow through and land in a sterile fluid that kills them off. The rest of the tools are cleaned, a new bowl is put in place, the magnetic tension is released and the blood flows in.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Preparing the samples

    The samples are coated with a so-called Giemsa stain so they can be viewed under the microscope. This is when the actual experiment begins.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Viewing the culprits

    The pathogens can now be examined under the microscope.

  • Malaria research at the Bernhard Nocht Institute

    Telltale dots

    These are the violet circles located in red blood cells. In this case, the researchers can tell just how high the number of infected blood cells is. Depending on what they’re looking for, the researchers will further test the samples under an electron microscope.

Next week on Global Ideas

Cross-border environment protection in Europe

The Prespa lake in Macedonia

The Prespa region is an area of land shared between three countries: Albania, Macedonia and Greece. UNESCO has declared the region a natural heritage site. But the Prespa’s future is at risk. Overfishing, overgrazing and illegal logging have destroyed some of Prespa’s precious ecosystem. Now, all three countries are working on initiatives to preserve the region’s unique flora and fauna, include locals in the project and tackle social inequality.