Malaria Vaccine in the Works

Malaria is a disease caused by parasitic organisms of the Plasmodium family that are transmitted by the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. Of the four species that cause illness in humans, P. falciparum is the most common and the most deadly. Malaria is most common in Africa, but is present throughout the world. Malaria is an acute febrile illness, with symptoms such as fever, nausea, or vomiting appearing 10-15 days after infection. If treatment is not begun within 24 hours, P. falciparum malaria can cause severe illness or even death.

A new vaccine for malaria is currently in early stage trials with promising results! The vaccine was developed after a survey of Tanzanian children found that 6% of them had antibodies to a protein crucial to the parasite's development. The antibody prevents the parasite, Plasmodium falciparum (picture right: organisms in intracellular phase), from reproducing within the blood cell. This allows the spleen and macrophages time to remove the damaged cells from circulation. The children with the antibody did not suffer from severe malaria, consistent with a previous study in Kenyan adolescents. This new vaccine is one of around 100 vaccines that have been developed since 1980, but is the first to focus on the parasite once it has entered the body.


Picture: http://lib.jiangnan.edu.cn/ASM/257-1.jpg
References
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulrodgers/2014/05/23/has-malaria-met-its-match/
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/