This would be an amazing advance for the world. The number of malaria cases around the world are shocking and as with many illnesses, malaria strikes the poor, the young and the elderly. As a traveler it's possible to take anti-malarial treatments though with many there are serious side effects and even then, they can only be taken for brief periods. During travels in northern Laos Joelle and I stumbled upon a young boy on a mountainous walking path who was sent out of his village (alone) because he was ill. Fortunately we were with a doctor who had medicine and could treat him but most are not as lucky. The model today for prevention is limited to mosquito nets - which will still be required - but something more is needed.
The vaccine, known only by its codename RTS,S, is the most promising to emerge from 20 years of research and has already demonstrated its efficacy in adults and babies in the Gambia and Mozambique.
The latest trials, in Kenya and Tanzania, have shown for the first time that the vaccine can be administered as part of the standard immunisation programme, without interfering with vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and meningitis, and still provide protection. This will make delivering it much easier and less costly across Africa and has boosted researchers' hopes of developing an effective weapon against one of the world's worst killer diseases. A final trial involving thousands of children across Africa is planned for next year, if regulatory approval can be obtained.
About 500 million episodes of malaria occur every year, mostly in the developing world. The disease is caused by a parasite transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito and is the leading killer of children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.
