Malaria is a disease we’ve been dealing with for thousands of years. A short thread about the deadly parasite's origins and the new solutions that could save 20 million lives by 2050 👇
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A brief history of malaria: Traces of the malaria parasite have been found in the remains of Egyptian mummies. Hippocrates described the fevers caused by malaria in Ancient Greece. The mosquito-filled Pontine Marshes protected Ancient Rome from invaders.
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Today, more than 40% of the world’s population lives in areas at risk of malaria transmission. An estimated 627,000 people died from the parasite in 2020: 96% of the victims lived in Africa and 80% were children under 5 years of age.
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While the overall number of deaths has been reduced over the past few decades, progress seems to be stagnating because evolution has caught up: malaria-infected mosquitoes have evolved and become more resistant to insecticides and antimalarial drugs.

May 8, 2022 · 4:16 PM UTC

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These challenges have encouraged scientists to explore different solutions. The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that malaria deaths can be cut by 75% by 2030 with the help of: • Gene-edited mosquitoes • Vaccines • Insecticide-treated nets and more
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This would avert an estimated 19.4 million deaths by 2050. Read about each of these solutions in the latest instalment of Year 2049: year2049.substack.com/p/mala… #malaria #vaccine #geneticengineering #science #biotech