Coronavirus: Malaria discovery could be used to develop Covid-19 treatment

‘Very real prospects’ findings in Australian study could be used in fight against Covid

Scientists hope a breakthrough in our understanding of malaria could offer potentially effective treatment for coronavirus and other infectious diseases.

A new study has found that the parasites causing the mosquito-borne infectious disease are heavily dependent on particular enzymes inside a human host’s red blood cells.

Led by experts at Australia’s RMIT University, the research revealed that drugs which deactivate these human enzymes are highly effective in killing the malaria parasite – and represent an alternative to drugs targeting the parasite itself.