Progress against malaria

In another major advance in the fight against infectious diseases, recently concluded tests have shown an anti-malaria vaccine, GlaxoSmithKline's RTS S/AS02A, to be far more effective than previously believed. Malaria kills over a million people world-wide each year.

The initial six month follow-up showed that the vaccine reduced the risk of clinical malaria by 30%, and the risk of serious disease by 58%. It had been thought that the vaccine would only be effective for about six months, creating a significant logistical challenge to vaccinate African childern twice a year. In a recent report published in The Lancet, researchers working in Mozambique found the jab cut the risk of clinical malaria by 35% and nearly halved the risk of serious malaria even after 18 months.

Melinda Moree, of the Malaria Vaccine Initiative, said: "We are very excited because there is a malaria vaccine that protects children from malaria and it actually lasts long enough to make it a real public health intervention that can have an impact on malaria in Africa."

Tags: disease, Africa, malaria, vaccine

New vaccines on the way

The World Heath Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that they expect the number of vaccines available to prevent diseases to double over the next decade to about 40. The WHO's head of vaccine research, Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, was guardedly optimistic, saying "Experience has shown that the uptake of new vaccines is extremely slow. We urgently must find solutions to deliver these powerful and proven health tools to all people at risk."

New vaccines are being developed against a range of often deadly infectious diseases including meningitis, malaria, and cervical cancer, following recent scientific breakthroughs, however scientific, financial, technical, and regulatory issues continue to present substantial obstacles to delivering vaccines to people in need, she said.