How mosquitoes could teach us a trick in the fight against malaria

How mosquitoes could teach us a trick in the fight against malaria. Researchers uncover new insights into how mosquitoes' immune systems fight off deadly parasites - Imperial College London news release STRICTLY EMBARGOED until - 19.00 hours GMT - (14.00 hours US Eastern Time) - Thursday 5 March 2009 The means by which most deadly malaria parasites are detected and killed by the mosquitoes that carry them is revealed for the first time in research published today (5 March) in . The discovery could help researchers find a way to block transmission of the disease from mosquitoes to humans. Mosquitoes become infected with malaria when they feed on the blood of an infected person. Young malaria parasites then grow and develop inside the mosquito for two weeks. New human infections occur when these parasites are 'injected' with the insect's saliva during the mosquito's next blood meal. However, most of the malaria parasites are killed by the mosquito's immune system as soon as they enter the insect's bloodstream, with only one or two slipping through the net and going on to divide, multiply, and infect people.