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Malaria remains a global health challenge, with 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths reported in 2023. Current vector control methods, such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying, have become less effective due to insecticide resistance and behavioural adaptations in mosquitoes to bite outdoors and during dusk or dawn, when people are not protected by these measures. This underscores the urgent need for innovative solutions to combat malaria.
The BOHEMIA trial, the largest study on ivermectin for malaria to date, showed a 26% reduction in new malaria infection on top of existing bed nets, providing strong evidence of ivermectin’s potential as a complementary tool in malaria control. Coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) - an institution supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation - in collaboration with the Manhiça Health Research Centre and the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, the study has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Ivermectin is a drug traditionally used to treat neglected tropical diseases like onchocerciasis which causes river blindness and lymphatic filariasis which causes elephantiasis. It has now been shown to reduce malaria transmission by killing the mosquitoes that feed on treated individuals. Given the rising resistance to conventional insecticides, ivermectin could offer an effective new approach to tackle malaria transmission, especially in regions where traditional methods have become less effective.
The Unitaid-funded BOHEMIA project (Broad One Health Endectocide-based Malaria Intervention in Africa) conducted two Mass Drug Administration (MDA) trials in the high-burden malaria regions: Kwale County (Kenya) and Mopeia district (Mozambique). The trials assessed the safety and efficacy of a single monthly dose of ivermectin (400 mcg/kg) given for three consecutive months at the start of the rainy season in reducing malaria transmission. In Kenya, the intervention targeted children aged 5–15, while in Mozambique it focused on children under five.
Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Medicine website.