According to a study published in the British medical journal The Lancet, a mosquito-killing drug, ivermectin, tested in Burkina Faso reduced malaria cases by a fifth among children and could be an important new tool in the global fight against the disease.
About:
Ivermectin is a medication used to treat many types of parasite infestations such as head lice, scabies, river blindness (onchocerciasis) and lymphatic filariasis.
Working: It belongs to the avermectin family of medications. It works by causing the parasite's cell membrane to increase in permeability, resulting in paralysis and death.
History: Ivermectin was discovered in 1975 and came into medical use in 1981.
Status: It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system.
Recent study:
The drug, ivermectin, is already widely used to treat parasitic infections but had not previously been tested for its effects on malaria incidence.
The recent study showed that when people take ivermectin it makes their blood lethal to the mosquitoes that bite them, thereby reducing the likelihood that others will be bitten and infected.
Ivermectin could potentially be used in combination with other malaria control methods to protect more people.
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