India, EU join hands to evolve strategies for malaria control

Concerned over the fact that many parts of Europe may get affected by malaria due to climate change, India and the European Union have joined hands in evolving strategies for control of the disease, which is affecting 219 million people in developing countries.
"The European Commission as part of the global effort to fight poverty and to reach the Millennium Development Goals has invested millions of euros into seeking ways to control this major public health problem," an EU release said here today.
Normally associated with the developing countries where 219 million people are affected with the disease, as per WHO figures, the scientists now fear that with climate change it is possible that parts of Europe could also become affected by the disease.

The EU got associated with India as malaria has become endemic in many regions of South Asia and identifying potential targets requires an in-depth understanding of the signalling processes that control proliferation and differentiation during the parasite life cycle, it said.
With funding of EUR 3 million, France's Institute national de la sante et de la recherche medicale (INSERM) formed a unique consortium of EU and Indian partners for the project- 'MALSIG'.
The team generated various transgenic parasite strains to learn more about the proteins responsible for the disease. In addition new insights into DNA replication in gametocytes (a type of germ cell) have been gained through the study of cyclin-dependent protein kinase (CDKs), which regulate the cell cycle and effector molecules.