WASHINGTON: A new experimental malaria vaccine may offer long-lasting immunity against the persistent parasite that infects hundreds of millions of people each year, a study suggests.
The approach, described in the journal PLOS ONE, uses a cytomegalovirus-based platform that is already being used in vaccines developed to battle HIV and tuberculosis.
This new vaccine reduced the malaria-causing parasite’s release from the liver and into the blood of infected rhesus macaques by 75 to 80 per cent.
“The problem with most vaccines is that their effectiveness is often short-lived,” said Klaus Fruh, a professor at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in the US.
“Our cytomegalovirus-based vaccine platform can create and keep immunity for life. With further research and development, it could offer a lifetime of protection against malaria,” Fruh said.
Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are spread to humans through mosquito bites.
It can cause high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like illness and, in the worst cases, death. Worldwide, 216 million people were infected with malaria in 2016, leading to 445,000 deaths. The vast majority of infections occur in Africa, researchers said. (AGENCIES)
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