More than 620,000 people died from malaria in 2020, and 241 million were affected, mostly children under 5 in Africa. The first licensed malaria vaccine for children is currently being distributed by the World Health Organization (WHO); however, it only has a 30% efficacy rate and needs four doses.

The new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, tested a very different strategy that involved giving people a large dose of lab-made antibodies to fight malaria instead of relying on the immune system to produce enough of those same infection-blocking antibodies after vaccination. Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health developed the experimental antibody, which was administered intravenously. However, the favourable results portend well for a simpler-to-administer injectable version from the same researchers that are currently undergoing early testing in newborns, kids, and adults.

The parasite, which is conveyed by mosquito bites, has a life cycle that the antibody breaks. Before the parasites reaching the liver, where they might develop and reproduce, it targets immature parasites. It was created using a volunteer′s antibodies who had received the malaria vaccination.

330 adults in Mali participated in the study and received either a placebo infusion or one of two different antibody dosages. Every two weeks for 24 weeks, everyone underwent a test for malaria infection, and anyone who became ill was treated.

Blood tests revealed infections in 20 of the higher dose recipients, 39 of the lower dose recipients, and 86 of the placebo recipients.

When compared to the placebo, the larger dose was 88% effective. The reduced dose has a 75% efficacy. The experts said that with this new development, another immune-based medication is currently available and being used to try to control malaria.

(Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/antibody-treatment-tested-as-a-new-tool-against-malaria-research-101667297894180.html)