Thursday 18 September
2008, San José, Costa
Rica
Interlinéa Buses
Stalled Again
Hotel Tax May Go, $15 To
Be Added To All Airfares
To Costa Rica
24 Immigration
Officials Charged For False Passport
Stamps
Costa Rica President's
Popularity Falls On
Scandals
Potential Cure for
Malaria Discovered in
Rainforests of Costa
Rica
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Potential Cure for
Malaria Discovered in
Rainforests of Costa
Rica
A team of researchers in
Costa Rica’s Alberto
Manuel Brenes Reserve
have been searching for
plants that might help
cure the
mosquito-transmitted
disease known as
malaria.
While not a common
disease in Costa Rica,
the country’s tropical
rainforests have a wide
diversity of plants that
sometimes cannot be
found elsewhere in the
world– and some of these
species might contain
medicinal properties to
help stop malaria and
other diseases. An
estimated 1-3 million
people die each year
from malaria.
During their research,
the team collected a
total of 50 promising
plants.
The two that appear to
be medicinal candidates
are from the Asteraceae
and Meliaceae families.
The Asteraceae family
includes flowers like
asters, daisies,
sunflowers. The
Meliaceae family
contains trees and
shrubs such as mahogany.
As of now, no other
details have been
released by the team as
to why they think that
these species within the
aforementioned plant
families might cure (or
help prevent?) malaria.
Although it is worth
noting that plants from
the Meliaceae family
have been used as
natural cures for fevers
in some parts of the
world and herbal
remedies like the plant
Echinacea are also found
in the Asteraceae
family.
Malaria is a sometimes
confused disease.
Mosquitoes themselves
are not directly
responsible, but they
can be thought of as the
carriers of the disease–
or triggermen. Protozoan
parasites that live
within females of some
mosquito species are the
culprits. Once these
parasites enter the
human body they spread
rapidly through red
blood cells. Symptoms
commence soon thereafter
and can range from
dizziness to fever and
nausea.
Drugs to help treat and
prevent malaria are
currently expensive for
many of those in need
and are not 100%
effective– hence the
search for a cure.
Mosquito nets and other
methods for controlling
mosquito populations,
such as spraying
insecticide, have been
the most effective
methods to date for
preventing malaria.
Let’s hope the Costa
Rican research team
succeeds in finding a
plant from a which an
effective vaccine can be
developed. |
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