Washington: Two phase 1 clinical trials of a new malaria vaccine candidate conferred unprecedentedly high levels of durable protection when volunteers were later exposed to disease-causing malaria parasites, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) said on Wednesday.
“The vaccine combines live parasites with either of two widely used antimalarial drugs – an approach termed chemoprophylaxis vaccination,” an NIH press release said.
If the approach proves successful there, chemoprophylaxis vaccination, or CVac, potentially could help reverse the stalled decline of global malaria, the release said.
A Phase 2 clinical trial of the vaccine is now underway in the African nation of Mali, a malaria-endemic country, the release added.
Malaria, a disease caused by a mosquito-borne parasite, killed an estimated 409,000 people in 2019, compared with 411,000 in 2018, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Children account for about two thirds of malaria deaths. (UNI/Sputnik)
Malaria vaccine trials show unprecedented levels durable protection – US Health Dept
