5 ms·
Another way to eliminate malaria is to modify it so that it kills the host, eventually eliminating the ability of malaria to replicate and go to extinction.
by delbel 8y ago
Another way to eliminate malaria is to modify it so that it kills the host, eventually eliminating the ability of malaria to replicate and go to extinction. I am not seriously suggesting this, but this is how nature works. There are unknown diseases in the past that have extincted themselves this way.
- bilbo0s 8y agoHow? I can't speak with authority on many subjects, but as it happens, medicine is one that I maintained a deep familiarity with in a past life. (Medical and bio tech startups.) There are over 200 surprisingly different species of Malaria. Humans are affected by five or six of them if I'm remembering everything correctly. Here is the thing, the number of species of birds, bats, antelope, monkeys, etc affected by those malaria strains is legion. So here's your problem in extremely simplified layman's terms, how do you make malaria kill ALL of its potential hosts? Then there is the question of Anopheles. Will your modifications kill that species as well? How do you stop the other 194 or 195 species of malaria from mutating to affect humans? Etc etc etc. Continuing with overly simplified explanations, malaria has learned to "survive" over the past few million years. There are many parasites out there and I'd argue that malaria is far and away among the most savagely cunning in this respect. What you propose is akin to the jedi handwave-y manner that people propose we "cure" cancer. It really is just not as simple as that. Historically, people have always found themselves to be "really, really, really close"... and that last 1% never materializes.
- delbel 8y agoI don't know the answers. But your questions are important.
- dogma1138 8y agoWe’ve managed to eradicate malaria in many parts of the world without any consequences, sure other strains may mutate but so far they haven’t. If they do we’ll figure out how to deal with them when that happens. Malaria isn’t the first parasite we’ve eradicated some of them we’ve eradicated globally and hopefully it won’t be the last. The biggest problem isn’t the how but it’s how to do it in Africa where the infrastructure and the stability of governments across the entire region makes it a hard task to accomplish.
- Fomite 8y agoWe've never eradicated a parasite globally. We've knocked out two viruses, smallpox and rinderpest, but genuine parasites are a taller order.
- dogma1138 8y agoWe’ve eradicated the Guinea worm just recently or have effctively done so at least with no new cases reported.
- Fomite 8y agoI'll admit I'm pessimistic, but I think it's premature to officially call it eradicated, though admittedly, it's close. Though it's also a way easier target than malaria.
- UncleEntity 8y ago> We’ve managed to eradicate malaria in many parts of the world without any consequences... As far as I know we've never eradicated anything by modifying genes which is the part most people are concerned with. Sure, drain the swamps and/or use whatever methods worked in the past but think twice before releasing mosquitos into the wild which have the unfortunate side effect of turning crocodiles into Godzilla with a single bite. I've seen the movies and <<spoiler alert>> it doesn't turn out well.
- dogma1138 8y agoScientifically illiterate people are scared of GMOs in other news water is wet. Also in several places malaria was eradicated using engineered mosquitos sure we didn’t use gene editing but rather much more coarse tools like radiation. We’ve been producing GMO for 15 millennia if anyone thinks that throwing sperm at the wall or irradiating seeds is somehow not genetic engineering they need to get their facts in order.
- yayana 8y agoThats not how nature works. Diseases typically become less deadly over time since introduction to a new host; strains that terminate their host are less viable than ones that keep a long lived infectious one. A mosquito that out competes other mosquitos while living a short hyperactive life is a better way to eliminate malaria by not giving it a necessary gestation period. Areas where a mosquito's life is short do not have malaria.
- djsumdog 8y agoDiseases often die out because they run out of their food source .. same with some animals/predators. That's probably why so much of the bacterial around us has evolved to live symbiotically with the plants and animals around them.