Keyword: Malaria

ABSTRACT: Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) and malaria remain major health challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. CRISPR-Cas9 has enabled advances in SCD gene therapy and malaria-related experimental research, but these applications represent distinct biological and translational pathways. This systematic review evaluated CRISPR-Cas9 applications in SCD and malaria research while distinguishing clinical therapeutic evidence from experimental malaria-related findings.
Methods: A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 and Joanna Briggs Institute guidance. PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar were searched on 12 August 2026. Studies investigating CRISPR-Cas9 applications related to SCD or malaria, including HBBcorrection, fetal haemoglobin induction, host-cell modification, parasite genome editing and mosquito-vector modification, were included. Data were synthesised narratively due to substantial heterogeneity among study designs and outcomes.
Results: Thirteen studies were included, comprising six SCD-related and seven malaria-related studies. SCD studies demonstrated progression from experimental genome correction and haemoglobin regulation strategies to clinical application of CRISPR-edited autologous haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Malaria-related studies primarily investigated parasite functional genomics, erythrocyte invasion mechanisms and mosquito genetic modification. No included study evaluated a single CRISPR-Cas9 intervention that simultaneously treated SCD and enhanced malaria resistance.
Conclusion: CRISPR-Cas9 represents an advancing therapeutic platform for selected SCD applications and an important experimental tool in malaria research. Current evidence supports separate translational pathways, with clinical progress established in SCD and malaria applications remaining predominantly preclinical.

ABSTRACT: In Nigeria, typhoid fever and malaria continue to be the leading causes of feverish sick ness, particularly in children and pregnant women. Accurate diagnosis is difficult in loca tions with limited resources since both diseases are endemic and feature overlapping symptoms, such as high fever, malaise, and gastrointestinal distress. Frequent misdiagno sis is a result of this diagnostic overlap as well as systemic healthcare flaws such the Widal test's dependence, the varied sensitivity of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), and in adequate laboratory equipment. Traditional beliefs and self-medication are examples of community-level influences that also contribute. These difficulties lead to improper ad ministration of antibiotics, delays in treatment, and higher mortality, especially among vulnerable populations. The epidemiology, clinical overlap, and diagnostic difficulties of typhoid fever and malaria in Nigeria are summarized in this article. It draws attention to the negative effects of incorrect diagnosis, such as treatment failure, antibiotic resistance, and poor maternal-child health outcomes. The report urges system-wide changes, public education, better healthcare worker training, and enhanced diagnostics such multiplex as says and more precise RDTs. Investing in water and sanitation infrastructure, regulating unlicensed healthcare practitioners, and improving surveillance systems are some of the main proposals. Reducing diagnostic ambiguity, enhancing clinical results, and safeguard ing high-risk groups all depend on filling these gaps.