The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of the first ever vaccine for the prevention of malaria, which could save the lives of thousands of children in Africa every year.

Malaria is one of the deadliest infections and kills nearly half a million people every year. Nearly all of them are in sub-Saharan Africa, and among these are 2,60,000 kids below the age of 5 years.

The new vaccine stimulates a child’s immune system to fight Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite most prevalent in Africa. 

The vaccine had around 50% efficacy in clinical trials, against severe malaria in the first year; however, it declined to about zero by the fourth year. Moreover, the trials did not evaluate the vaccine’s effect on preventing deaths. Some experts therefore questioned if it is worth investing in the vaccine in countries with innumerable other problems.

Severe malaria is accountable for nearly half of malaria deaths and serves as a reliable proximal indicator of mortality, stated Dr. Mary Hamel, leading WHO’s malaria vaccine implementation program, adding that they expect to see the impact.

A modelling study conducted last year noted that if the vaccine was rolled out to countries where the incidence of malaria was the highest, 5.4 million cases and 23,000 deaths could be prevented in children below 5 years of age every year. Dr. Pedro Alonso, director of WHO’s global malaria program, said that having a malaria vaccine which is safe, moderately effective and ready for distribution is a historical event. 

The vaccine, called Mosquirix, is administered in three doses in kids aged 5 to 17 months, and a fourth dose is given about 18 months later. 

Source: ET Healthworld