Vaccine targets malaria transfer

Singh said transmission-blocking vaccines,though not yet widely tested on humans,are attracting widespread interest due to their potential to be used in conjunction with traditional drugs and bed nets for gradual elimination and even eradication of malaria.

“We’re investing in developing transmission-blocking vaccines to support two long-term goals: introducing an 80 per cent efficacious vaccine by 2025 and eventually eradicating malaria,” said MVI Director Dr Christian Loucq.

Dr Nirbhay Kumar,professor of tropical medicine at Tulane,is working on a novel approach that targets a specific,but hard-to-synthetically-produce protein that the malaria parasite needs to spawn in the mosquito host.

Using the protein or antigen — known as Pfs48/45 — in a vaccine could potentially induce an immune response capable of slowing or halting disease transmission by preventing the parasite from re-infecting mosquitoes after feeding on an infected person.

Transmission-blocking vaccines are an important intervention to support malaria eradication efforts. However,a major barrier to evaluating vaccine potential of Pfs48/45 has been the inability to effectively manufacture the antigen — substances that trigger immune responses — in the necessary quantity and form.