Malaria

Malaria is a tropical disease that also occurs in many temperate regions. It exacts a heavy toll of illness and death - especially among children and pregnant women. It also poses a risk to travellers and immigrants, with imported cases increasing in non-endemic areas. Treatment and control have become more difficult with the spread of drug-resistant strains of parasites and insecticide-resistant strains of mosquitoes that carry the parasites.

TDR has supported research on this disease for many years, searching for new chemicals effective against the parasites, developing new drugs to treat the disease, identifying ways to prevent mosquitoes from transmitting the parasite, analyzing rapid diagnostic tests, and gathering evidence for the best ways to use the treatments in the harsh field conditions where malaria is endemic. Currently, our work is being conducted in the following areas:

Evidence for antimalarial policy and access

Innovative vector control interventions

Accessible quality-assured diagnostics

Integrated community-based interventions

Lead discovery for drugs for infectious tropical diseases