Scientists are working on breeding a special type of mosquito that will not only bite people and drink our blood, but can also carry the antimalarial vaccine along the way. Experts believe that such "flying vaccinations" are a radically new method of fighting a multitude of unpleasant diseases
Japanese scientists have managed to breed a mosquito, whose salivary glands produce a natural vaccine that enters human blood when bitten. The "prototype" of the mosquito is already ready, which carries the vaccine against Leishmania, a deadly disease transmitted by sand flies.
Infection with Leishmania is associated with painful sores on the skin, fever, and rapid weight loss. If the patient is not properly treated, the infection leads to destruction of the liver and spleen.
Experiments carried out on rodents showed that mice bitten by "useful" mosquitoes produced antibodies to Leishmania, which indicates their immunization.
"Such bites elicit a clear response from the immune system, as with conventional vaccinations, but the patient does not feel pain from the injection itself, and there is no need to pay for it," says the head of the project, Professor at the Medical University of Japan Shigeto Yoshida. “In addition, the possibility of repeated bites by the same type of" beneficial "mosquitoes will provide a high level of antibodies throughout a person's life. And mosquitoes, in turn, will move from the category of pests to the category of extremely beneficial for humans."
Scientists understand that there are moral aspects that can prevent the use of the "flying vaccine". Naturally, such a non-standard method of vaccination will not allow obtaining the patient's consent and will not provide an opportunity to control the dosage. However, all this fades in the face of unforgiving facts: each year, malaria claims between one and two million lives worldwide, with the highest death rate among African children.
The disease is caused by a single-celled parasite, which, like a possible vaccine, is carried by mosquitoes. Scientists have long been working to genetically alter the insect so that it would not be able to “reward” its innocent victim with a deadly disease when bitten. For example, they tried to make mosquito males incapable of procreation, and, at the same time, to breed other "malaria-free" ones who were supposed to replace them.