Is a malaria vaccine on the horizon? / News

Millions of people around the world contract malaria every year. Hundreds of thousands die from this, most of them children. The World Health Organization wants to eliminate the disease in five countries over the next five years. The successes in studying malaria vaccine in the UK could be a big step in the right direction.

In the fight against malaria, researchers have provided important results. The scientists said that a potential malaria vaccine developed by the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford showed in a clinical study a 77 percent efficacy. For the study, a total of 450 young children in Burkina Faso were vaccinated with the vaccine in 2019 and then observed for a year.

According to the published information, no serious side effects were found in the vaccines. The vaccine, called R21 / Matrix-M, is the first malaria candidate to have already exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) target to develop a vaccine with 75% efficacy by 2030. In cooperation with the Indian Serum Institute and the US pharmaceutical company Novavax, it is now expected to provide a broader study A range of 4,800 children in four African countries. More information.

Jenner Institute director, Adrian Hill, spoke of:wonderful dayIn the fight against malaria. “I think there’s a good chance of a breakthrough.”, He told the Palestinian News Agency. Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the result as one ‘Unmatched success’. “Malaria kills hundreds of thousands of children every year. An effective vaccine opens the way to ending this global tragedy.”, He tweeted.

The World Health Organization announced an initiative on the occasion of World Malaria Day next Sunday, in which 25 countries will participate, to achieve malaria free by 2025. These countries include Guatemala, Honduras, North Korea and Thailand. The organization estimates that nearly 230 million people get sick from the mosquito-borne disease each year. In 2019, more than 400,000 people died, two-thirds of them children under the age of five. Africa is particularly affected by more than 90 percent of malaria deaths.

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