University exporting monkey malaria
DUNEDIN has an unusual new export thanks to University of Otago scientists — monkey malaria.
A recent gathering hosted by the university’s department of microbiology and immunology and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation resulted in scientists culturing cynomolgi malaria — a relapsing strain of the disease which affects monkeys.
Cynomolgi is very closely related to vivax malaria — the relapsing malaria affecting humans.
Noone has been able to successfully culture vivax malaria, but the breakthrough in culturing cynomolgi malaria potentially opens the door to developing drugs to combat vivax malaria.
Prof Bruce Russell said it could provide clues needed to eventually culture vivax malaria. That is why the depart ment has been flat out since the conference meeting demand from overseas researchers batches of monkey malaria.
‘‘We are basically exporting monkey malaria parasites around the world, from Dunedin,’’ he said. ‘‘I just sent one to California and next year I will be going to Paris to talk about this. This is a big deal in the world of malaria.’’
Vivax malaria was a worldwide public health issue which affected millions of people, hence word of Otago’s potential advance being of interest to the Gates Foundation, Prof Russell said.
‘‘Once they heard about they wanted to know more . . . We had US investors come down, industry, academics and scientific organisations from the United States and Europe, who all came to Dunedin to understand how we can exploit this model.
‘‘Dunedin has given birth to a new focus group, which will use cynomolgi malaria vivax.’’
While it is called monkey malaria, cynomolgi malaria could and did cross over to humans, so it was doubly important to better understand the disease, Prof Russell said.
‘‘Mosquitoes are biting monkeys and then biting humans who live close to forests — it is now the major form of malaria in Malaysia,’’ he said.
While the disease is not prevalent in New Zealand, it is
to study still an issue as migrants and tourists can bring malaria to the country.
‘‘Hopefully our study will come up with new drugs and new therapies which can nail these multi drugresistant malaria parasites. That’s our hope.’’