Malaria Vaccine Passes Early Test

Researchers today reported encouraging results from an
early study of a new malaria vaccine.

The malaria vaccine seems to be safe for babies, according to the study,
published online today in The Lancet.

Malaria is one of the world's leading killers. Here are malaria facts from
the World Health Organization:

• Every year, more than a million people worldwide die of malaria. Most are
  in Africa.


• Babies, young children, and pregnant women account for most malaria
  deaths.


• Every 30 seconds, a child dies of malaria.

Malaria Vaccine Study

The new malaria vaccine doesn't have a brand name yet.

New vaccines are first tested to make sure they are safe. Then they are
tested for efficacy.

So far, the new malaria vaccine has gone through its initial safety study,
which included 214 infants in a rural area of the African nation of
Mozambique.

Half of the babies got three doses of the malaria vaccine when they were 10,
14, and 18 weeks old. The other babies got three doses of a hepatitis B vaccine
at the same age.

All of the babies also got routine vaccinations against other illnesses.
Their families got insecticide-laced mosquito nets to drape over their beds.
Insecticide was twice sprayed inside the families' homes to target
mosquitoes.

The researchers followed the children for six months after their last
malaria or hepatitis B vaccination.

During that time, no major side effects were seen from the malaria vaccine.
Blood tests showed higher levels of antimalarial antibodies in the babies that
got the malaria vaccine.

The study wasn't designed to test the vaccine's efficacy. But the results
suggest that the malaria vaccine reduced the babies' risk of developing
malaria.

The results need to be checked in another study, note the researchers, who
included John Aponte, MD, of Spain's University of Barcelona.

They suggest that a malaria vaccine may be part of an antimalaria program
that also includes mosquito nets and other strategies.

GlaxoSmithKline, the drug company that makes the malaria vaccine, designed
the study. Several of the researchers work for GlaxoSmithKline. The study was
funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario
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