In a medical breakthrough, scientists in the US have found that a medicine typically prescribed for rare genetic disorders could in fact transform human blood into a lethal poison for mosquitoes.
If trials are successful, a new drug could offer a new defence against insect-borne diseases like malaria. Recently published in Science Translational Medicine, the study reveals that nitisinone, a medication used to treat hereditary conditions that impair amino acid breakdown, can make blood toxic to mosquitoes, killing them swiftly after they feed.
The research team, including Associate Research Professor Lee R. Haines from the University of Notre Dame, experimented with nitisinone, which blocks an enzyme in the human body to prevent harmful byproducts from accumulating. When mosquitoes ingest blood laced with the drug, it disrupts their ability to digest it, leading to their own rapid death. ‘One way to halt the spread of insect-borne diseases is to make the blood of animals and humans toxic to these blood-sucking insects,’ Haines is quoted as saying in a statement, raising the optimism of everyone who suffers from the little pests.
Mosquito misery may come to an end with new drug
Unlike ivermectin, another drug used to kill parasites but linked to resistance and environmental toxicity, nitisinone boasts a longer half-life in human blood. ‘Its mosquito-killing activity circulates in the body much longer,’ said co-author Álvaro Acosta Serrano, a professor of biological sciences at Notre Dame. ‘This is critical for field applications, both economically and for safety.’
In the scientist’s experiments, the drug proved effective against mosquitoes of all ages, including older ones most likely to spread malaria and even those resistant to insecticides.
With mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, and yellow fever posing a growing threat, innovative solutions are urgently needed. While traditional protection measures, such as repellents, long clothing, and bed nets, will continue to be necessary, nitisinone could be a powerful complement to existing strategies. Haines suggests alternating it with ivermectin to manage resistance, could go a long way towards far greater protection.
The discovery is a major advancement, one which could potentially revolutionise mosquito control and deliver comfort to millions and hope in the global fight against deadly diseases.
