On World Malaria Day, the World Health Organization has launched an emergency program in Phnom Penh to tackle a worrying regional trend - a strain of malaria that is proving resistant to the most important anti-malarial drug. Six years ago, health researchers were worried after a strain of malaria in western Cambodia began to show resistance to the world’s key malaria treatment - … [Read more...]
Phase III Trial of RTS,S Malaria Candidate Vaccine Reduces Malaria by One Third
Results from a pivotal, large-scale Phase III trial, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that the RTS,S malaria vaccine candidate can help protect African infants against malaria. When compared to immunization with a control vaccine, infants (aged 6-12 weeks at first vaccination) vaccinated with RTS,S had one-third fewer episodes of both clinical and severe malaria … [Read more...]
Gates Foundation Offers USD$100K Grants for Innovative Global Health and Development Projects
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today that it is accepting applications for Round 10 of its Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, a USD$100 million grant initiative encouraging innovation in global health and development research. Anyone with a transformative idea is invited to submit an easy, online, two page application. Grand Challenges Explorations is pleased to have … [Read more...]
Malaria Nearly Eliminated in Sri Lanka Despite Decades of Conflict
UCSF, Sri Lankan Researchers Credit Adaptability of Malaria Control Program Despite nearly three decades of conflict, Sri Lanka has succeeded in reducing malaria cases by 99.9% since 1999 and is on track to eliminate the disease entirely by 2014. According to a paper published today in the online, open-access journal PLOS ONE, researchers from Sri Lanka’s Anti-Malaria Campaign and the UCSF … [Read more...]
Genetically Engineered Bacteria Prevent Mosquitoes From Transmitting Malaria
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute have genetically modified a bacterium commonly found in the mosquito’s midgut and found that the parasite that causes malaria in people does not survive in mosquitoes carrying the modified bacterium. The bacterium, Pantoea agglomerans, was modified to secrete proteins toxic to the malaria parasite, but the toxins do not harm the mosquito … [Read more...]
Contrasting Patterns of Malaria Drug Resistance Found Between Humans and Mosquitoes
A recent study has detected contrasting patterns of drug resistance in malaria-causing parasites taken from both humans and mosquitoes in rural Zambia. Parasites found in human blood samples showed a high prevalence for pyrimethamine-resistance, which was consistent with the class of drugs widely used to treat malaria in the region. However, parasites taken from mosquitoes themselves had very … [Read more...]
Glaxo’s RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise
Preliminary results from the trial of a malaria vaccine show that it protected nearly half of the children who received it from bouts of serious malaria, scientists said Tuesday. The vaccine, known as RTS,S and made by GlaxoSmithKline, has been in development for more than 25 years, initially for the American military and now with most of its support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. … [Read more...]
Study Finds Malaria Vaccine Candidate, RTS,S Significantly Reduces Malaria Risk in African Infants
First results from a large-scale Phase III trial of RTS,S*, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show the malaria vaccine candidate to provide young African children with significant protection against clinical and severe malaria with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. The results were announced today at the Malaria Forum hosted by the Bill & … [Read more...]
RTS,S Malaria Vaccine
QUESTION: What information can you provide on this vaccine candidate? ANSWER: RTS,S is a vaccine candidate against Plasmodium falciparum malaria which works by encouraging the host's body to produce antibodies and T cells which diminish the malaria parasite's ability to survive and reproduce in the liver. Produced by GlaxoSmithKline, RTS,S is the first vaccine candidate against … [Read more...]
Microwaves Against Malaria
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that twelve grantees have advanced to the next level of Grand Challenges Explorations (GCE), an initiative that enables researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges. The grantees will receive additional funding to continue Phase II of their research over a two-year … [Read more...]