Malaria vaccine will be a first

[depakid]

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

THE first malaria vaccine to use the whole parasite, developed by Australian researchers, will be tested on humans early next year in the US. The live vaccine, which will be used on a dozen volunteers in Maryland in February, has been created by genetically altering the parasite so it is unable to get into the blood stream, where it does the damage. Tests of similar vaccines on mice have shown 100 per cent protection against malaria, a crippling disease that kills more than 1 million people worldwide each year.

Alan Cowman, who heads the infection and immunity division at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, said he was confident the vaccine would prove safe for humans. ‘‘This vaccine will give people a live parasite which can’t cause malaria,’’ he said. That allows people to develop antibodies and the right immune response that will give immunity.’’

An article published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences outlines how the researchers deleted two key genes in the Plasmodium falciparum parasite that causes the form of malaria most deadly to humans. In identifying and deleting the genes, scientists have in effect created a weakened strain of the disease.

Volunteers in the first human trials, to take place at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, will have the vaccine delivered by mosquitoes. A second round of trials will involve delivery of the vaccine by injection. Professor Cowman said he was disappointed not to be taking part in the trials, injecting himself with the vaccine that he has worked for more than a decade to create. ‘‘We made it, and it would be really nice to be able to test it on ourselves,’’ he said. ‘‘But I would have to be in the US for eight weeks, and it’s just too long.’’

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/malaria-vaccine-will-be-a-first-20090728-e06d.html

[BlooInBloo]

1. Wow - 100% - that's a high bar.

[Juche]

2. I hope it works

However malaria has a life cycle where it changes shape in different parts of the body, and my understanding was that was a major problem with developing a vaccine, one that works in one stage of the disease does not work during a different stage. I have no idea how they solved that problem, but I know malaria is one of the diseases (like giardia or HIV) where you cannot simply find one antigen on the surface and give it to people like we do with polio vaccines.

[depakid]

3. Complicated indeed

[mopinko]

6. well, theoretically, i suppose, it would only need to react to the initial stage.

it would be unable to advance to the later stages if it is killed as soon as it enters the body.

[LeftishBrit]

4. k&r - it would be so great if this actually turns out to work!

[xchrom]

5. ...

:applause: