New biomolecules to fight drug resistance in Kala-azar
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Published: 29th Jun, 2020
A team of researchers at the Department of Biotechnology’s National Centre for Cell Science (DBT-NCCS) in Pune has been exploring ways to tackle miltefosine resistance.
A team of researchers at the Department of Biotechnology’s National Centre for Cell Science (DBT-NCCS) in Pune has been exploring ways to tackle miltefosine resistance.
The researchers worked with one of the species of Leishmania that causes infection, called Leishmania major.
The only drug available against leishmaniasis, miltefosine, is rapidly losing its effectiveness because of emerging resistance to this drug due to a decrease in its accumulation inside the parasite, which is necessary for the drug to kill the parasite.
What is Kala- azar?
TLeishmaniasis, which is commonly known as Kala-azar in India, is a neglected tropical disease affecting almost 100 countries including India.
It is caused by a parasite called Leishmania, which is transmitted through the bite of sand flies.
There are three main forms of leishmaniasis:
visceral, which affects multiple organs and is the most serious form of the disease
cutaneous, which causes skin sores and is the most common form
mucocutaneous, which causes skin and mucosal lesion.