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In a collaborative effort spanning continents and disciplines, researchers from McMaster University, Public Health Ontario, and Leiden University have issued a global call to action for what they term “pathogen prospecting.” Their mission? To delve into archival specimens of mosquitoes stored in museums worldwide, unlocking valuable insights into historical malaria infections.
Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research team champions the exploration of preserved mosquitoes to unveil pathogens that once plagued human populations with malaria during blood-feeding interactions.
Dr. Megan Brickley, a paleopathologist at McMaster University, underscores the immense potential of historical entomology collections. “Our focus was on malaria, but there’s great potential to extend beyond that,” Dr. Brickley remarks, highlighting the wealth of untapped information awaiting discovery within these collections.
The preserved mosquitoes, sourced from both public and private collections, offer a unique opportunity to investigate the evolutionary trajectory and geographical spread of Plasmodium parasites responsible for malaria transmission. By leveraging modern scientific techniques like DNA analysis, researchers aim to accelerate efforts to combat malaria, a disease that continues to pose a significant global health threat.
While malaria is commonly associated with tropical regions, historical records indicate its prevalence in cooler climates, including Canada and the United States. Amanda Cooke, a Ph.D. student specializing in historical malaria in Canada, underscores this historical context, emphasizing the disease’s past reach into unexpected territories.
“Pathogen prospecting not only reconstructs malaria’s historical epidemiology but also informs pathogen/vector evolution and climate-based predictive modeling of malaria distribution,” explains Mark Nelder, a medical and veterinary entomologist at Public Health Ontario.
The study’s urgency is underscored by the current landscape of malaria, which accounts for millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths annually, predominantly affecting vulnerable populations in developing countries.
As climate change alters environmental conditions, understanding malaria’s historical patterns becomes increasingly crucial. By uncovering insights from archival mosquitoes, researchers aim to shed light on malaria’s past, present, and future, driving innovations in disease prevention and control.
Co-authors of the study include Hendrik Poinar, a genetic anthropologist at McMaster University, and Rachel Schats of Leiden University’s Laboratory for Human Osteoarchaeology.
The call for “pathogen prospecting” heralds a new era of interdisciplinary collaboration and exploration, harnessing the power of historical specimens to tackle pressing global health challenges.
Journal Reference: Mark P. Nelder et al, Pathogen prospecting of museums: Reconstructing malaria epidemiology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310859121
