Malaria, the leading killer of children under 5 years old in parts of Africa, continues to be a serious issue. Despite decades of prevention measures, such as bed nets and insecticides, progress has stalled as mosquitoes have adapted and become resistant to these insecticides. Scientists are now looking for new ways to combat this latest generation of super mosquitoes. In 2000, the World Health Organization reported 897,000 annual deaths from malaria, but by 2019 that number had decreased to 568,000. Unfortunately, the numbers have since gone up again.
One possible solution is to use a combination of insecticides, rotating them regularly to prevent the mosquitoes from becoming familiar with any one type of toxin and developing resistance. Another option is to use a chemical called piperonyl butoxide (PBO). This does not act as an insecticide, but instead prevents the cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) enzymes from detoxifying insecticides. A recent study in Ghana showed that this combination of PBO and pyrethroids was 43.8% to 100% effective, depending on location. And they might lead us back in the direction we were headed before: the eventual complete elimination of malaria. Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow! This video was supported in part by our friends over at Patreon. Our patrons help fund the work we do here on this channel, and in exchange, they get access to a ton of fun stuff. You get access to our exclusive Discord, bloopers from our video shoots, and our behind the scenes podcast. If that sounds like a good deal, you can head to Patreon.com/SciShow to sign up, or just to learn more. Thanks for watching! [Outro]