Malaria Vaccines in Development
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Malaria vaccine development is aimed at preventing
malaria infection by helping the body develop immunity
against the malaria parasite.
Scientists who are developing new
malaria vaccines have several challenges to overcome. These include:
- A malaria vaccine must be specific to the
Plasmodium species and also specific to the strain of
parasite, such as the P. falciparum
parasite.
- Malaria immunity is stage-specific. This means that a
vaccine that can kill a parasite at one stage of its life cycle may not be able
to kill a parasite in another stage.
- Malaria parasites may be able
to change (mutate) quickly. This makes a vaccine ineffective.
- A malaria
vaccine must be able to provide immunity without causing significant side
effects in the people who receive the vaccine.
- The form of parasite
that is injected by the mosquito can reach a human's liver in just 30
minutes.
Finding a vaccine is vital to decreasing the illness and
death caused by malaria infection. More study is needed before people can rely
on vaccines to protect them from malaria infection. Until a more effective
vaccine is available, avoiding mosquito bites and using medicines are the only
ways to prevent malaria infection. (For more information, see the Prevention
and Medications sections of the topic Malaria.)
Blood-stage vaccines
Blood-stage vaccines prevent or
contain the malaria infection by limiting the growth of the malaria parasite in
the bloodstream. Some vaccines are showing promise in clinical trials.footnote 1, footnote 2, footnote 3 But no blood-stage vaccine that can
prevent malaria is available to the public yet.
Vaccines that prevent the spread of malaria
Vaccines
are being tested that prevent the spread of malaria.footnote 4
The vaccine works by preventing the malaria parasites from developing inside a
mosquito. So a mosquito that bites a person infected with malaria cannot pass
the infection on to another person. The vaccine does not prevent or treat
malaria in a person already infected.
References
Citations
- Bejon P, et al. (2008). Efficacy of RTS,S/AS01E vaccine against malaria in children 5 to 17 months of age. New England Journal of Medicine, 359(24): 2521-2532.
- Abdulla S, et al. (2008). Safety and immunogenicity of RTS,S/AS02D malaria vaccine in infants. New England Journal of Medicine, 359(24): 2533-2544.
- Roestenberg M, et al. (2009). Protection against a malaria challenge by sporozoite inoculation. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(5): 468-477.
- Kubler-Kielb J et al. (2007). Long-lasting and transmission-blocking activity of antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum elicited in mice by protein conjugates of Pfs25. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(1): 293-298.
Credits
ByHealthwise Staff
Primary Medical ReviewerE. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
Specialist Medical ReviewerW. David Colby IV, MSc, MD, FRCPC - Infectious Disease
Current as ofMarch 3, 2017
Current as of:
March 3, 2017
Bejon P, et al. (2008). Efficacy of RTS,S/AS01E vaccine against malaria in children 5 to 17 months of age. New England Journal of Medicine, 359(24): 2521-2532.
Abdulla S, et al. (2008). Safety and immunogenicity of RTS,S/AS02D malaria vaccine in infants. New England Journal of Medicine, 359(24): 2533-2544.
Roestenberg M, et al. (2009). Protection against a malaria challenge by sporozoite inoculation. New England Journal of Medicine, 361(5): 468-477.
Kubler-Kielb J et al. (2007). Long-lasting and transmission-blocking activity of antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum elicited in mice by protein conjugates of Pfs25. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(1): 293-298.