GM fungus kills 99% of malaria mosquitoes | Health

One study suggests that a fungus – genetically enhanced to produce spider toxin – can quickly kill a large number of mosquitoes that spread malaria.

The trials, which took place in Burkina Faso, showed that mosquito populations collapsed by 99% within 45 days.

The researchers said their goal was not to make the insects disappear, but to help stop the spread of malaria.

The disease, which spreads when female mosquitoes drink blood, kills more than 400,000 people a year.

Around the world, there are about 219 million cases of malaria each year.

Researchers at the University of Maryland in the United States and at the IRSS research institute in Burkina Faso first identified a fungus called Metarhizium pingshaense, which naturally infects Anopheles mosquitoes that spread the malaria.

The next step was to improve the mushroom. "They are very malleable, you can manipulate them genetically very easily," Professor Raymond St Leger of the University of Maryland told BBC News.