Editorial Team
... Read More
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookie Policy.
Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : April 30, 2015 11:37 AM IST
Malaria is a deadly vector borne disease caused by mosquito-borne plasmodium parasite. Common symptoms are fever, chills, vomiting, nausea, body ache, headache, cough and diarrhoea. If untreated, it can lead to complications like jaundice, dehydration, anaemia, brain malaria, liver failure and kidney failure. Children, pregnant women, and the elderly anyone with decreased immunity is at a greater risk. It was responsible for an estimated 198 million cases and 584000 deaths worldwide in 2013. While quick and effective treatment measures and diagnostic tests are now available, there was no preventive vaccine available for a disease like malaria with such a high prevalence rate. (Read: World Malaria Day: WHO calls for collective will & determination to defeat malaria)
Scientists have now developed the first viable vaccine which can fight and prevent the disease. The final trial of the vaccine confirmed that it can prevent the disease and save millions of lives every year. The first malaria vaccine candidate (RTS,S/AS01) to reach phase 3 clinical testing is partially effective against clinical disease in young African children up to 4 years after vaccination, according to final trial data. (Read: Malaria affects the reproductive health of both men & women)
The results suggested that the vaccine could prevent a substantial number of cases of clinical malaria, especially in areas of high transmission The findings reveal that vaccine efficacy against clinical and severe malaria was better in children than in young infants, but waned over time in both groups. However, protection was prolonged by a booster dose, increasing the average number of cases prevented in both children and young infants. The RTS,S/AS01 vaccine was developed for use in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria still kills around 1300 children every day. There is currently no licensed vaccine against malaria anywhere in the world.(Read: Diagnosis of malaria -- everything you should know )
According to Professor Brian Greenwood, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) would assess the quality, safety, and efficacy of the vaccine based on these final data and if the EMA gives a favorable opinion, WHO could recommend the use of RTS,S/AS01 as early as October 2015.
The study is published in The Lancet.
With inputs from IANS
Image source: Getty Images
For more articles on diseases & conditions, visit our diseases & conditions section. For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter.
