A newly developed vaccine was proven to reduce the risk of clinical and severe malaria by fifty percent among African kids aged five to17 months old, giving hope to kids afflicted with the life-threatening disease. In Africa and all around the world, hundreds of thousands of children die from malaria each year.
Now on its final stage of trial, the vaccine called RTS,S was developed through a public-private collaboration among GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biologicals, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Initial tests across 11 sites in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa reportedly proved effective in preventing severe cases of malaria.
"We are very happy with the results,” said Christian Loucq, director of PATH MVI. “We have never been closer to having a successful malaria vaccine."
Said Christopher Elias, president and CEO of PATH, "Today African scientists have shown that persistent scientific inquiry can help us defeat one of the world’s most devastating killers. This 11-site Phase III trial has been conducted in Africa for Africans by capable African scientists.”
“The results made public today are encouraging and certainly something to feel good about, but let's also remember the human dimension."
Malaria is transmitted through the saliva of mosquitoes. RTS,S kicks in when the parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, enters a person’s bloodstream after he is bitten by the mosquito. It then stimulates an immune response, preventing the parasite to mature and multiply in the person’s liver, where it infects more red blood cells.