Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) endorsed the world's first Malaria Vaccine in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease.
Context
Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) endorsed the world's first Malaria Vaccine in the hope that it will spur stalled efforts to curb the spread of the parasitic disease.
About the Vaccine
- The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S - or Mosquirix - a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline.
- The active ingredient in Mosquirix is ??made up of proteins found on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum parasites (PFP).
- RTS, S aims to start the immune system in the early stages of malaria when PFP enters the bloodstream through a mosquito bite and infects liver cells.
- The RTS malaria vaccine, S / AS01 is used to prevent falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission.
- falciparum, the most common form of malaria in Africa.
- It is the first vaccine and the only one that shows partial protection against young children.
- The malaria vaccine should be given in a 4-dose program to children from five months of age to reduce the incidence of malaria and the burden.
- The vaccine adds to the development of the malaria tool and can help get malaria control back on track.
- It also helps prevent liver infection with the Hepatitis B virus.
Malaria
- Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted to humans through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- It is preventable and curable.
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Global burden of malaria
- In 2019, there were an estimated 229 million cases of malaria worldwide, with an estimated death toll from malaria in that year was 409,000.
- Children under the age of 5 are the most at risk of contracting malaria.
- In 2019, an estimated 67% (274,000) of all malaria deaths worldwide.
- By 2019, India had an estimated 5.6 million cases of malaria compared to about 20 million cases in 2000.
Countries which eradicated malaria
- In 2019, 27 countries reported less than 100 indigenous patients of the disease, from six countries by the year 2000.
- Countries that have acquired at least three consecutive years of indigenous malaria cases are not eligible to apply for a WHO certificate to eradicate malaria.
- Over the past two decades, 11 countries have been WHO-certified free of malaria:
- United Arab Emirates (2007)
- Morocco (2010)
- Turkmenistan (2010)
- Armenia (2011)
- Sri Lanka (2016)
- Kyrgyzstan (2016)
- Paraguay (2018)
- Uzbekistan (2018)
- Algeria (2019)
- Argentina (2019)
- El Salvador (2021)
