Mitigating Climate Change on Malaria by Biotechnological Applications

Climate change is progressing globally and is likely to affect the human health in various ways. Transmission of vector borne diseases like malaria, which is endemic in most parts of India, is likely to be affected by climate variability. Temperature affects the developmental period related to different stages of mosquitoes' life cycle like blood feeding rates, gonotrophic cycle and longevity. Increase in temperature increases the probability of transmission by reducing the time of gonotrophic cycle, increasing the rate of blood meal digestion and greater frequency of feeding the host. Various reports on the impact of climate change on malaria in India on climate change and its impact on incidence of malaria, regarding impact of climate change on malaria in India with emphasis on selected sites, have shown marked impact and likelihood of increased incidence of malaria and development of new endemic regions. Its hence important to develop newer strategies and Biotechnology, which can play a vital role in combating malaria by intervening at diagnostic, prophylactic, therapeutic and preventive levels by interfering in malarial transmission by vector mosquitoes. Applications to malaria control can be in the form of (a) newer drug development, (b) vector incapacitation-transgenic mosquitoes, (c) vaccine developmentidentification and manufacture, (d) differential diagnosis- speciation and drug sensitivity of malaria parasites. Biotechnology and improved surveillance of malarial infection is the key in mitigating the effect of climate change on incidence of malaria