New research has shown the dye methylene blue( C16H18ClN3S) kills malaria parasites at an unparalleled rate and is safe for human use.
In the recent study, which was conducted in Mali by scientists at Radboud University
Medical Center, the University of California (UCSF),
and the Malaria Research and Training Center
(MRTC), malaria patients were treated with a
combination of the blue dye and artemisinin-based
combination therapy (a fairly standard treatment).
Within two days, the patients were cured of malaria
and were also no longer able to transmit malaria
parasites if they were bitten by a mosquito again.
The research, which will be published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases this week, marks a significant breakthrough in the treatment of malaria.
Malaria parasites are growing increasingly resistant to existing drug treatments . When they are effective,current medications still do not prevent the spread of parasites— meaning that even if a patient’ symptoms are treated successfully, when they are bitten by another species of mosquito that spreads malaria, it could transmit the disease to someone else
Malaria can still be transmitted from a person to a
mosquito for at least a week using traditional
treatment methods. Malarial parasites stay in an
infected person’s blood for a long time, and while
they’re there they split into gametocytes — male and female sex cells. When a new mosquito comes along and bites an infected person , they suck in those Gametocytes in the person’s blood. In the new
mosquito, they become fertilized, and when the
mosquito bites someone else, the cycle continues,
spreading the parasites.
With the addition of the blue dye, researchers saw
that they could stop transmission of the parasite in
just two days. Teun Bousema (Radboudumc), who coordinated the study, explained in the team’s press release that its ability to prevent the spread of the disease so quickly is what makes methylene blue so promising.
Bousema added that the treatment also seems to
work well “in species that are resistant to certain
medicines.”
The researchers have noted just one side effect of
using the blue dye. “I have used it myself,” Bousema said “and it turns your urine bright blue. This is something that we need to solve because it could stop people from using it.”
While the side effect may be strange and could be
alarming if patients weren’t aware that it could
happen, it doesn’t appear to be harmful. As Bousema pointed out, if researchers aren’t able to suppress the dye’s effect on urine, providers who use the treatment will need to communicate the possible side effect, its cause, and explain that it isn’t a cause for concern in order to assure it doesn’t dissuade patients from starting or completing treatment.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
each year around the world 212 million people
contract malaria and an estimated 429, 000 die. The
group of people that most often die as a result of
malaria infection are children, specifically those
living in Africa. While preventative measures like
insecticides and mosquito nets have helped reduce
the number of annual deaths by nearly half in the
last decade, the spread of malaria continues to take
lives.
The new treatment shows promise, and although
there are still a few small hurdles (such as the blue
urine) that need to be worked out before the dye
would become widely available for treatment
purposes, having another treatment — especially one
that helps prevent the spread of the parasite — could
certainly contribute to our goal of eliminating
malaria once and for all.
