Malaria remains one of the diseases that are difficult to treat and many causes of death. Now researchers using genetically engineered fungi to control the spread of malaria.

Scientists from Britain and the United States do the genetic engineering of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Researchers found that in certain combinations of these transgenic fungi have the ability to stop the development of the parasite that causes malaria in the mosquito.

In the journal Science, researchers revealed this way into an environmentally friendly approach in the fight against malaria, and can also be used to control diseases caused by insects such as dengue fever or Lyme disease.

“Although here is used to combat malaria, the fungus transgenic approach is one way that is very flexible in controlling all antrophoda carriers of disease,” said Raymond St. Leger, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland.

In this study known to the malaria parasite is found only 25 percent in the salivary glands of mosquitoes that are sprayed with transgenic fungi, whereas disemportkan mosquitoes with fungi without modification found 87 percent of malaria parasites and are not sprayed at all known to contain 94 percent of the malaria parasite.

The results showed that spraying against malaria mosquitoes with fungi that have been genetically engineered could drastically reduce the transmission of disease to humans and provide an effective biopesticide for several decades.

World Health Organization (WHO) said infection caused by malaria parasites there are approximately 240 million cases worldwide each year and cause the deaths of more than 850,000 people most of whom are children. Most cases of malaria occur in sub-Saharan Africa, but this disease affects about 100 countries worldwide.

Using insecticide treated bed nets or eradicate one of the main malaria prevention strategies, but these mosquitoes can develop resistance to pesticides, making this method ineffective.

“Animals mosquito has an incredible ability to evolve and adapt, so there is no treatment that permanently and always need new innovation,” says St. Leger.