An experimental vaccine shows promising results when tested in two studies using African children as objects of research. These children were selected because most of African children got malaria each year.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows the results of the more promising than the previous vaccine trials. "We're one step closer to the day, where malaria is only going to be a disease such as smallpox and polio that can be eliminated or controlled," said Christian Loucq, director of the Malaria Vaccine Initiative.
If this vaccine showed similar results in a larger study of the vaccine will be ready for use in 2011. Malaria, a parasitic infection spread by mosquitoes, affects children and adults. This disease makes people to be absent from work for long periods of time and requires a large medical expenses.
The researchers are trying to find a malaria vaccine for decades, but the complexity of the malaria parasite makes this work so very hard. Currently, the best way to prevent malaria is to use bed nets and repel mosquitoes with insecticides. Already available drugs for malaria but tend to be resistant parasites with these medications. In certain countries, the supply of drugs is also very limited.
One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine involving 340 infants as its object. All babies are given a standard health immunization against many diseases, including diphtheria, tetanus and polio.
Furthermore, half of these babies get malaria vaccine while the other half gets the hepatitis B vaccine to ensure that both groups received the same amount of vaccine.
The main objective of this experiment was to try to malaria vaccine safety, and see if this vaccine interferes with the workings of other vaccines. Malaria vaccine does not indicate a problem that could endanger the health and does not interfere with other vaccines, bright researchers in the NEJM. The group receiving the malaria vaccine decreased the risk of malaria by 65%, compared with the other groups.
In a separate trial and intended to try the efficacy of the vaccine, the researchers used slightly different malaria vaccines, one containing a different adjuvant, a substance which is intended to strengthen the elements of the vaccine.
Researchers gave the vaccine in 809 children in Kenya and Tanzania with a malaria vaccine and rabies vaccine. After 8 months, 32 of 402 children in the group given the malaria vaccine, or about 8%, experienced clinical malaria, compared with 66 of 407 children, or about 16%, in the group given the rabies vaccine.
Two experts from the center of disease prevention and control (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Atlanta wrote in the NEJM that the results of this trial "promising." However, they mentioned that the study was conducted in the country, where the uses of bed nets and anti-malarial drugs have been able to reduce drastically the number of malaria cases. This vaccine needs to be tried in areas with the number of malaria cases is higher.
"This is the first malaria vaccine to reach this high growth, and it is very important to learn how it works in areas with higher malaria transmission," wrote the experts. "However, this vaccine is very promising beginning."
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