The treatment of malaria faces a double-whammy
The parasite that causes malaria is becoming resistant to the most effective drugs against it, and some forms of the parasite can persist in the liver and only emerge to infect the bloodstream (and cause symptoms) weeks or even years later. The Emory Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center are studying molecular details of how malaria parasites interact with people in hopes of finding patterns that can predict the course of the disease. Their work also could help physicians identify biomarkers to predict which cases will become the most severe and help inform the design of a malaria vaccine. This work is part of the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center, funded by up to $19 million from the NIH, which brings together Emory scientists with partners at University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and CDC and is led by Emory malaria expert Mary Galinski.
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