WP: First Successful Malaria Vaccine Reported

[wildflower]

First Successful Malaria Vaccine Reported

Shot Cut Risk of Infection in Children by One-Third, Study Showed

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 14, 2004; 6:30 PM

An experimental vaccine can slash the risk that children will get malaria, apparently offering the first effective way to inoculate youngsters against one of the world's biggest, most intractable killers, researchers reported today.

An eagerly awaited study involving 2,022 children in Mozambique, in east Africa, found the vaccine cut by one-third the likelihood of getting malaria and reduced by more than half the risk of developing serious, life-threatening cases of the disease.

"We're very excited," said Pedro Alonso of the University of Barcelona, who led the study. "This is the first conclusive evidence that a vaccine that can protect African children against malaria is possible."

While additional hurdles remain, if follow-up studies confirm the findings the vaccine could be available for widespread use within five years, marking the achievement of one of the most elusive goals in modern medicine. The effort to create a vaccine against the mosquito-borne parasitic killer has been marked by repeated failure.

more

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33393-2004Oct14.html

[Maple]

1. This is

REALLY good news! A tremendous breakthrough if it all works out!

[hatrack]

2. And soon, we can start running out, since it's not profitable enough

Very encouraging news on the science, but given recent events I wonder just which drug companies will be eagerly courting the deep-pocketed consumers of Mali, Burma and Zambia by investing in this vaccine.

[ladybugg33]

3. Amazing that with all the money the US puts into medical research

this comes out of Barcelona.