The U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) released the newest episode of its show, "Scrubbing In," March 16.

The new episode features malaria research experts from Navy Medicine's Infectious Disease Directorate at the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) in Silver Spring, Maryland.

During the episode, "Scrubbing In" host Paul Ross discovers how Navy Medicine researchers use mosquitos in a controlled laboratory environment to develop vaccines for diseases such as malaria.

"We raise mosquitos and study malaria to support vaccine development trials," said Army Maj. Silas Davidson, chief, Department of Vector & Parasite Biology, NMRC.

After examining the mosquitos and larvae in the insectary, where they are grown and harvested, Ross was ready for the "five-minute challenge." During the challenge, live mosquitos attempted to infect Ross in a controlled laboratory environment to test the vaccine's effectiveness.

"We are essentially trying to give you malaria to test a vaccine, and we're doing this via the natural route," said Dr. Lindsey Garver, malariologist, Department of Vector & Parasite Biology, NMRC. "This is how people get malaria in nature: the mosquito bites them and it puts the parasite into your skin."

"If a mosquito is infected, sporozoites can be seen around their salivary gland under a microscope," said Ross. "These parasites get passed from the mosquitos to the human blood stream through their bites, and that's how people become sick with diseases, like malaria."

"Malaria has traditionally been a concern for military personnel and it's a major public health concern in many parts of the world," said Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Lizewski, deputy chief, Department of Vector & Parasite Biology, NMRC.

The vaccines developed by Naval Medical Research Center are used to treat Navy and Marine Corps service members, as well as the local populations where service members are deployed.

The purpose of the research and development conducted at the Infectious Disease Directorate at NMRC is to protect warfighters and ensure Navy readiness.

The show, which typically runs between seven and 11 minutes, takes viewers around the Navy Medicine enterprise to showcase what its medical personnel do each and every day. It gives a glimpse of the myriad aspects to the Navy Medicine mission.

The episode on malaria research can be found here: https://youtu.be/yAcyiv_cteU

A previous episode on vaccine development at NMRC can be found here: https://youtu.be/7Tfwz43AWwY

U.S. Navy Medicine is a global health care network of 63,000 Navy medical personnel around the world who provide world-class health care to more than one million eligible beneficiaries. Navy Medicine personnel deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, providing critical mission support aboard ship, in the air, under the sea and on the battlefield.

For more news from Navy Medicine, visit www.navy.mil/.