![]() A promising start – but there's room for improvement Infected people can pass the malaria parasite to mosquitoes who bite them, and the cycle of infection continues.Ĭountries try to curb malaria with mosquito netting, insecticidal sprays, anti-malarial drugs and even by releasing genetically modified mosquitoes that can't bite or lay eggs.Įven with those measures, scientists estimate there are over 240 million cases of malaria a year and over 600,000 deaths – which is why vaccines are needed. ![]() People get malaria from the bite of an infected mosquito. The disease is most common in Africa where the warm climate suits the growth of the parasite. Malaria parasites live in the salivary glands of Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasites infect the liver, then move into the blood. Malaria is spread from infected Anopheles mosquitoes to people. (green), infecting a red blood cell (red). But the small trial of 26 participants did show that the modified parasites protected some participants from a malaria infection for a few months.Ī colored microscope image of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium sp. This type of vaccine is of course not yet ready for prime time. She calls the use of a genetically modified live parasite "a total game changer" for vaccine development. Kirsten Lyke, a physician and vaccine researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who was not involved in the study. "They went old school with this one," says Dr. ![]() The parasites mature inside mosquitoes so at this proof of concept stage – as early stage trials are called - it makes sense to use them for delivery. He and his colleagues went this route because it is costly and time consuming to develop a formulation of a parasite that can be delivered with a needle. Sean Murphy, lead author of a new malaria vaccine study, demonstrates how participants got their dose: by placing an arm over a mesh-covered container filled with 200 mosquitoes whose bites delivered genetically modified malaria parasites.
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