Ivermectin can be an effective strategy to control malaria transmission, according to a new study that showed the drug can lower new malaria infections by 26 per cent. Ivermectin, a drug traditionally used to treat neglected tropical diseases like onchocerciasis, which causes river blindness, and lymphatic filariasis, which causes elephantiasis, has 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, said researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
“Ivermectin administered to the whole population significantly reduces malaria transmission, offering new hope in the fight against the disease,” the team said.
In the study, conducted in Kwale County, Kenya, children aged 5–15 who received ivermectin experienced a 26 per cent reduction in malaria infection incidence compared to those who received albendazole, the control drug used in the study.
The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrated that ivermectin significantly reduced malaria infection rates — particularly among children living further from cluster borders or in areas where drug distribution was more efficient.
Moreover, the safety profile of ivermectin was favourable, with no severe drug-related adverse events and only mild, transient side effects already seen with ivermectin in campaigns against neglected tropical diseases.
“We are thrilled with these results,” said Carlos Chaccour, co-principal investigator and ISGlobal researcher.