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New Delhi: The new malaria vaccine shows a new ray of hope. Phase 2B clinical trials of this vaccine were conducted in African children. Initial results indicate that the vaccine is safe and has promising effects in generating strong immunity. The results of the trial of this vaccine, named RH5.1/Matrix-M, have been published in The Current Infectious Diseases. The vaccine is a blood-stage type, which means the vaccine targets the parasite that causes malaria when it is present in the blood. Symptoms of malaria start appearing at the blood level in the infected person.
Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. Its symptoms appear about 10-15 days after the bite. Mild symptoms include fever, chills, and headache, while severe symptoms may include fatigue, seizures, and difficulty breathing. Researchers from Britain-based Oxford University and Burkina Faso’s Institut de Research en Sciences de la Santé included 361 children from the African country in this study. They were given three doses of Rh5.1/Matrix-M vaccine or rabies control vaccine. Two systems of food were adopted. In the first system the third dose was given four months after the second dose, while the second system was monthly, with the third dose given one month after the second dose. In the first i.e. delayed system, the efficacy or effectiveness of the vaccine in children was found to be 55 percent, while in the second or monthly system it was found to be 40 percent. The researchers found that children on the first diet had higher levels of antibodies and immune responses.
The World Health Organization has recommended two malaria vaccines for children – RTS, S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M, and these vaccines target the malaria parasite present in the liver. However, the researchers said that both vaccines do not induce protective immunity against the blood-stage malaria parasite. Matrix M vaccines provide a second layer of protection by targeting the malaria parasite present in the blood.
The fight against malaria is excellent
WHO on Wednesday praised the fight against malaria in the South-East Asia region and asked member states to focus on vulnerable populations to ensure prevention, detection and treatment. According to the World Malaria Report 2024, the number of malaria cases in the region is expected to fall from 2.28 million cases in 2000 to 4 million in 2023, showing a reduction of 82.4 percent. The region, home to a quarter of the world’s population, is expected to see 1.5 percent of the world’s cases in 2023, while malaria deaths are expected to drop from 35,000 in 2000 to 6,000 in 2023, a reduction of 82.9 percent. In these 23 years, 27 crore malaria cases and 4.20 lakh deaths were prevented in the region.