India, March 28 -- In a proof-of-concept study, researchers have found that a drug typically used to treat rare diseases could make human blood lethal to mosquitoes, potentially offering a new way to combat malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases.
The drug, nitisinone, is usually prescribed for individuals with rare inherited conditions. It works by inhibiting the production of a specific protein, reducing toxic byproducts in the body. When mosquitoes fed on the blood of three patients already taking nitisinone for a genetic disorder, they died within 12 hours.
"One way to stop the spread of diseases transmitted by insects is to make the blood of animals and humans toxic to these blood-feeding insects," said microbiologist Lee R. Haines...