Description: This is
a VOA Special English Technology Report.
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Text:
Scientists continue to seek better weapons against
malaria. Each year the number of cases is in the
hundreds of millions worldwide. About a million
people die, most of them in Africa. Economic losses
from the disease amount to an estimated one percent
of the African economy each year.
George Dimopoulos is an associate professor at the
Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute in
Baltimore, Maryland. He says forty-two percent of
the Earth's population live in areas where
malaria-transmitting mosquitoes exist. All of these
people are at risk of being infected with malaria.
He says the sad thing is that the majority of people
who are killed by malaria are children. This is
because their immune systems are not strong enough
to fight the infection. Malaria is caused by a
parasite called Plasmodium. The organism is injected
into people through the bite of infected mosquitoes.
Malaria can be treated, but in many areas the
parasites have become resistant to different drugs.
George Dimopoulos and his team are studying ways to
make mosquitoes resist infection by the parasite.
There are hundreds of kinds of mosquitoes in the
world. Most do not spread malaria. Some have immune
systems that kill Plasmodium. He says researchers
are interested in the immune reactions that are
responsible for killing the malaria parasite.
The researchers have developed a way to make genetic
changes in the three mosquito species known to
spread malaria. The changes cause their systems to
attack the parasite, blocking its development. Other
researchers are working on ways to spread these
genetically modified insects among mosquito
populations.
Professor Dimopoulos says there is still a long way
to go, but current malaria research is highly
promising. A new vaccine is in final testing. So far
it has proven effective at preventing the disease in
half of those vaccinated -- which is more than ever
before.
And at the Malaria Institute at Macha in Zambia,
researchers are developing an easier way to identify
malaria. The test uses saliva instead of blood to
diagnose the infection. Current efforts in malaria
control are mainly based on the use of insecticide
sprays and treated bed nets. But George Dimopoulos
says malaria needs to be attacked with drugs,
vaccines and bed nets and with whatever researchers
can develop.
And that's the VOA Special English Development
Report.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
