Husna, Amity University Kolkata
African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness is a disease fatal to both humans and animals. It is transmitted to humans and animals by the tsetse fly.
A vaccine for protection from this disease hasn’t been discovered making its transmission control rely on eliminating the tsetse fly population. Neurotoxic insecticides and pesticides can be sprayed on insects and are very much effective for insect and pest control but they harm the environment and they also reduce populations of some beneficial insect pollinator species.
Recently an international team of researchers has suggested an environment-friendly alternative, the drug Nitisinone (NTBC). An FDA approved drug that can eliminate tsetse flies by targeting an essential digestive pathway. The pathway is co-shared by all blood-feeding insects. Using this drug has the additional benefit of killing other blood-sucking arthropods like mosquitoes and ticks.
This drug is deemed to be ecologically friendly. It has the potential of reducing the transmission of African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike any insecticide, The drug posses execution capabilities for only blood-feeding insects and not sugar feeders such as pollinating insects.
Also read: Epilepsy is more than a tremor- World Epilepsy day 8th February.
SOURCE: Sterkel M, Haines LR, Casas-Sánchez A, Owino Adung’a V, Vionette-Amaral RJ, Quek S, et al. (2021) Repurposing the orphan drug nitisinone to control the transmission of African trypanosomiasis. PLoS Biol 19(1): e3000796. Published: January 26, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000796
Illuminating content and beautifully written!!
Wow😍😍😍 so useful information and easy to remember!