University of California scientists and the state's mosquito abatement districts have formed a 21-member team, the UC Malaria Research and Control Group (MRCG), to battle malaria in Africa, a global disease that kills some 1.5 to 2.5 million people a year, primarily in Africa.

Medical entomologist Greg Lanzaro, who also directs the UC Mosquito Research Program and the UC Davis Center for Vectorborne Diseases, traveled to Washington D.C. March 8 to meet with congressional staff to discuss the project.

"Our group, which includes distinguished vector biologists from multiple UC campus, and on-the-ground mosquito control practitioners from throughout the state, is firmly committed to defeating the most formidable and challenging mosquito-borne human disease: malaria," Lanzaro said.

"We are seeking new and innovative approaches to vector control for the prevention and control of malaria in Africa," he said, "to fight one of the world's oldest and deadliest diseases."

MRCG encompasses academic research, education and public service.

Its mission is twofold:
. To facilitate collaborative activities, including organized research and training, to mitigate the malaria burden in Africa and
. To provide technical advice to public health agencies on malaria control programs, based on mosquito abatement in Africa.

"Our short-term vision is to engage MRCG collaborators in the implementation of currently available vector-based malaria control programs in Africa," Lanzaro said. "Our long-term vision is to research and develop novel control strategies."

Nine out of 10 deaths are among sub-Saharan African children below age 5. Malaria kills a child in Africa every 10 to 15 seconds, or some 8000 children a day, he said.

Malaria is transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. In Africa, Anopheles gambia is the most efficient vector for the disease.
The most deadly parasite it transmits is Plasmodium falciparum, which can kill within hours of noticeable symptoms. These symptoms include high fever, severe headache, drowsiness, delirium and confusion.

"Currently, intensive efforts to eliminate malaria in Africa are largely ineffective," said the UC Davis medical entomologist, pointing out that many countries in Africa lack the infrastructure and resources necessary to mount campaigns; that industrialized countries traditionally invest very little in malaria research; and that malaria cases in Africa are increasing, due primarily to insecticide and drug resistance.

Chris Voight, executive director of the Mosquito and Vector Control Association of California (MVCAC), Sacramento, said that "efficient and effective methods of mosquito control, honed over decades of use in California, can be exported to Africa with immediate effects."

The state's mosquito control program, comprised of 61 mosquito and vector control districts, is widely regarded as one of the most effective in the world. It incorporates a three-pronged attack: surveillance, public education and mosquito control.

Said Lanzaro: "The California mosquito abatement districts comprise one of the most comprehensive and technically advanced mosquito control programs in the world. The UC scientists and the abatement experts have a long history of collaboration."

Six of the UC scientists already have active research in Africa, including a total of five projects in Kenya; three in Mali; and one each in Ghana, Cameroon and Tanzania. The researchers with African partnerships are Lanzaro, professor of entomology at UC Davis; Anthony Cornel of the UC Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier, and an associate professor of entomology at UC Davis; Shirley Luckhart, associate professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Medicine; Charles Taylor, UCLA professor of entomology; Anthony James, professor, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, College of Medicine, and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, UC Irvine; and Guiyun Yan, associate professor, Program in Public Health, College of Health Sciences, UC Irvine.

MRCG is seeking partners and sponsors to make the goals a reality, Lanzaro said. He met with the staffs of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sam Brownback (D-Kansas), and the staffs of three California House of Representatives members: Rep. Barbara Lee, 9th District, Rep. Diane Watson, 33rd District; and Rep. Mike Thompson, 1st District.

The 21-member team of MRCG is comprised of:
. UC Davis: Anthony Cornel, Bruce Hammock, Sharon Lawler, Walter Leal, Shirley Luckhart, Sergey V. Nuzhdin, William Reisen and Thomas Scott
. UC Irvine: Timothy Bradley, Anthony James and Guiyun Yan
. UCLA: Charles Taylor
. UC Riverside: Peter Atkinson, Timothy Bradley, Ring T. Cardé, Brian A. Federici, Sarjeet S. Gill, Karine Le Roch, Alexander S. Raikhel and William Walton
. MVCAC: Christopher Voight

More information on the collaborators, including their African partnerships and research expertise, is available from the MRCG Web site at www.mrcg.ucdavis.edu. The UC Mosquito Research Program's Web site is www.ucmrp.ucdavis. The statewide program is headquartered at 396 Briggs Hall, UC Davis.