Mosquitoes are a vector of the malarial parasite. Image: Pixabay

There were 219m cases of malaria in 2017, up 2m on the previous year. Increasingly, the disease is drug-resistant and prevention methods are difficult both in non-immune travelers and in areas where the disease is endemic. Moreover, most malaria drugs are designed to reduce symptoms after infection rather than prevent infection or transmission.

 

New compounds have been discovered with the potential to be novel antimalarial drugs. Image: Pixabay

A team of scientists are working to change that, aiming to treat the malaria parasite at an earlier stage – when it affects the human liver – rather than waiting until the parasite is in the blood. If successful, their work could have a significant impact on global health.