HIGHLIGHT 2015

               A study of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes along the Thai-Myanmar border confirmed a shift in malaria from Plasmodium falciparum to P.vivax and identified an unexpected role of mosquito species composition in extending the malaria transmission season to year –round.
Continuing progress in in-vitro culturing methods now allows MVRU to extend P. vivax viability to more than 26 months. The previous lack of a robustly propagating, continuous culture of this parasite has been a significant impediment to the study of the biology, transmission, and pathogenesis of this parasite, so this is an important milestone.

               MVRU has developed and disseminate information regarding the use of membrane feeding assays to standardize the infection of malaria-bearing mosquitoes. This method allows for comparisons of malaria infectivity and improves the ability to study transmission blocking drugs.

               The Mahidol Vivax Research Unit (MVRU), established in March 2011, is under a Center of Excellence for Malaria Research focused on the biology of malaria parasite transmission, including mosquito and human liver stages, in non-African countries. MVRU is based at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University (FTM-MU) in Bangkok, Thailand.
​The MVRU is currently focusing on the study of P. vivax and other malaria species causing disease in Thailand, including P. falciparum, P. malariae and P. ovale.Research conducted at the MVRU is aimed at understanding malaria transmission and infection. Research includes infection transmission dynamics of malaria gametocytes in endemic areas in Thailand and Asia, characterizing factors involved in hypnozoite formation and relapse of P. vivax liver stage parasites, to elucidate factors in mosquito vectors for parasite development and transmission, development of new tools for malaria diagnosis especially for non-falciparum malaria, when parasitemia levels are relatively low.

               The MVRU has routine access to P. vivax-infected blood, providing P. vivax infected blood to Anopheles vectors; consequently, the MVRU is one of only a few centers in the world that support the validation of transmission blocking vaccines, especially for P. vivax.

               The Director of the unit is Dr. Jetsumon (Sattabongkot) Prachumsri. Prior to joining the MVRU, Dr. Jetsumon was Chief of the Laboratory Science Section, Department of Entomology, U.S.Army Medical Component, Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS), Bangkok, Thailand. With over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals, Dr. Jetsumon and her research team have over 35 years combined experience in malaria research.

               The knowledge gained at MVRU will be used to develop new interventions and a national control program.

               The center's field laboratory is located at Kanchanaburi Tropical Disease Research Center, Mahidol University, near the border with Myanmar (Burma)