科学家眼基因驱动技术以对抗疟疾

科学家们希望采用基因驱动技术可以减少蚊子的种群，因为他们呼吁在斗争中进行新的创新疟疾, a fatal disease widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa.

TheWorld Health Organization(WHO) says the Africa region accounted for around 94 per cent of all global malaria cases and deaths in 2019. Over two-thirds of deaths were among孩子们under the age of five.

Gene drive technology — genetic engineering that modifies malaria mosquitoes so they can pass their genes on to large mosquito populations — could potentially contribute to malaria elimination in Africa, according to Krystal Birungi, a field entomology coordinator at the not-for-profit research consortium Target Malaria, Uganda.

“There is a sense in which our best tools today are also our oldest, which implies that innovation needs to be scaled up.”

坦桑尼亚伊法卡拉健康研究所昆虫学家兼科学主任弗雷德罗斯·奥穆（Fredros Okumu）

“It is a cost-effective way to cut down malaria vectors, and is simple to implement because the mosquitoes themselves do the work,” said Birungi during a Roll Back Malaria Partnership virtual boot camp on malaria control innovation on 15 November.

Although the technology is not on the market, and is yet to gain public acceptance, if rolled out it could complement existing malaria interventions such as insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spray, helping reduce malaria cases, according to Birungi.

“We are aware that with any new technology, the level of comprehension with it is low. So, there is a need to increase engagement with people to increase acceptance by the time such products are [on] the market,’’ she says.

坦桑尼亚Ifakara Health Institute的昆虫学家兼理学局长Fredros Okumu表示，促进基因驱动技术的促进是在全球疟疾控制速度放慢速度的时候。

“There is a sense in which our best tools today are also our oldest, which implies that innovation needs to be scaled up,” says Okumu.

谁在它的2020 malaria reportrecommends “better targeted interventions, new tools, and increased funding […] to change the trajectory of [the] malaria fight” globally, warning the COVID-19 pandemic could set back progress even further.

Okumu explains that existing malaria prevention tools such as bed nets, indoor residual spray and larvicides must be transformed through better management, research and innovation in order to reduce malaria cases significantly.

He adds: “For us to make the change that we want towards achieving zero [malaria cases], we must have a transformative tool that gives us not just 20 per cent, or 30 per cent, or even 50 per cent reduction in prevalence, but something that really effectively cuts down malaria transmission.’’

上个月，WHO批准了第一种疟疾疫苗RTS，S/ASO1，建议在撒哈拉以南非洲和其他疟疾地区的儿童推出它。

12月2日，董事会Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, approved a US$155.7 million investment to support the introduction, procurement and delivery of the malaria vaccine for Gavi-eligible countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022-2025.

“现在，最大的问题是，我们如何将这种[疫苗]与床网和室内残留喷雾和其他创新一起放在一起，从而为我们带来最大的好处。混合这些干预措施的艺术是我们未来转型的核心组成部分。’

尽管进展缓慢of innovation in malaria control, “progress is being made to deliver new tools”, says Nick Hamon, chief executive of the Innovative Vector Control Consortium.

Hamon将这种慢速的步伐归因于物流过程，该过程必须经过创新，才能在商业上获得产品，并需要确保当创新进入市场时，它将产生影响并完全安全使用。

“It’s slow because it’s more or less the same process to develop an insecticide just as it is to develop a drug, and all the safety testing required,” said Hamon during the virtual event.

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