A Pill Could Make Your Blood Poisonous To Mosquitoes

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Andre Penner – The Associated Press file

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High doses of ivermectin, a pill used to fight parasites, can turn human blood poisonous to mosquitoes, according to a study published Thursday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal. The medication could be used to help stem the spread of malaria.

Earlier studies showed that ivermectin, developed in the 1980s to fight parasites that cause river blindness and elephantitis, turns the blood of patients deadly to mosquitoes a short time after treatment, reported National Public Radio.

The new study, conducted in Kenya by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, revealed that the blood of patients who took three high doses of ivermectin in pill form over three days remained poisonous to mosquitoes for up to 28 days. The study found that patients suffered few side effects from the medication, though all were already suffering from malaria. full story