New research revealed a new method that may help us fight the spread of malaria: odor profiling. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study shows smell may be a fast and reliable way to detect the disease.
Many people infected with malaria and the Plasmodium parasite don’t show any symptoms. Despite being asymptomatic, they are still fully capable of spreading the illness. Numerous people in an endemic region will go unidentified despite their role in the transmission process.
These unknowing sources of malaria may even be a large part of the malaria problem. Authors behind the work estimate that these “hidden reservoir” patients could possibly account for up to 90 percent of the spread.