In the recesses of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Public of Health building, about 50,000 pests are bred each week.

The Malaria Research Institute brings to life millions of mosquitos a year for the purpose of studying the disease, which kills about 600,000 people annually.

“There's a variety of different applications that we use the mosquitoes for that we rear here in the Malaria Research Institute Insectary,” said Conor McMeniman is an assistant professor working at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Institute. “One of which is to understand the role that different genes play in development of the malaria parasite inside the mosquito.”

The insects are bred for use in studies at Johns Hopkins University or other laboratories that are researching malaria. The lab is one of the largest in the eastern United States.

The research ranges from helping to improve vaccines and treatment to ultimately making genetically modified mosquitoes that are more resistant to malaria.

“We can identify pathways in the mosquito that support development of the malaria parasite, with the eventual applied goal of developing a better mosquito that blocks malaria transmission,” McMenimen said.

Some of that work has already been done. The researchers have modified some insects to have malaria blocking capabilities, but nothing that has been proven effective or safe enough to introduce to the wild.

Malaria is an extremely dangerous disease, one that needs treatment quickly.

“A 20-hour delay in treatment can be the difference between life and death,” said Dr. Photini Sinnis, assistant deputy of the Malaria Research Institute. “We really need to decrease the incidence of malaria in order to get some control over the fatalities.”

Symptoms include fevers, chills and nausea. The disease alters and destroys red blood cells, sometimes causing blockages in arteries that lead to permanent damage or death.

Last year ten cases of locally transmitted malaria in the United States, one of which was in Maryland.

Locally transmitted means that the disease was not brought over from another country.

The U.S. hasn’t seen large numbers of malaria cases since the 1950s after the widespread use of pesticides and the reduction of wetlands.

However, climate change may be changing that.

“Time will only tell if our warming winters allow mosquitoes to start their reproductive cycles earlier, leading to higher mosquito populations, leading to an increased likelihood of transmission of malaria,” Sinnis said.

People in high risk areas should wear repellent, sleep under mosquito nets and wear clothing that covers the entire body to avoid the transmission of malaria.