SHIMOTSUKI, Japan, March 19 (UPI) -- Scientists in Japan say they've genetically modified a mosquito that vaccinates against malaria as it bites.
The prototype mosquito produces a natural vaccine protein in its saliva that is injected into the bloodstream when the insect stings a host, said Shigeto Yoshida, a researcher at Jichi Medical University in Shimotsuki, Japan.
"Following bites, protective immune responses are induced, just like a conventional vaccination but with no pain and no cost," Yoshida said.
Repeated stings from a mosquito would ensure a high level of protective immunity, Yoshida and his team wrote in the journal Insect Molecular Biology.
"So the insect shifts from being a pest to being beneficial," he said.
More research into the "flying vaccinators" must be done and there are ethical considerations involved in delivering a vaccine over a widespread area without first obtaining the consent of patients, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.
Malaria each year kills between between one and two million people worldwide, most of them African children.
