While
strides have been made toward creating a vaccine, no one has been able to
prevent malaria infection at a high enough percentage for it to be considered
successful. That may be changing soon, however, thanks to the diligent work of
some persistent scientists.
Current Malaria Treatments
Malaria
treatments are currently based on a regimen of early detection and then
treatment with various anti-malaria drugs. In order to successfully treat a
malaria infection, the physician must complete what is known as a parasitological
diagnosis — a blood sample is taken from an infected patient and treated with
acridine orange, which is a fluorescent dye that reacts with the malaria
parasites in the blood. The dye causes the parasites to change color and appear
brightly when seen under a specific type of microscope.
This is
necessary because there are actually two forms of malaria, categorized by the
type of parasite that is infecting the blood.
Plasmodium
falciparum is the most common type of
malaria. Unfortunately it is also the most deadly form of the virus. Its
companion, Plasmodium vivax (P.vivax), is far less common. There are also a
couple of very rare forms of the virus, designated as plasmodium ovule and
Plasmodium malariae, which look very similar to P.vivax and may be more
difficult to diagnose.
Once the
specific strain of malaria has been determined, a treatment plan can be set up
to best defeat the virus.
Vaccine Progress
Right
now, in spite of the enormous number of cases each year, scientists have not
been able to create a vaccine that protects against malaria. A new, albeit
small, study has found a vaccine that may protect adults from the most common
form of malaria, P. Falciparum, for up to a full year.
By
injecting a weakened version of the live virus into 59 of the 101 study
volunteers and then exposing them to the virus, scientists were surprised to
see that it protected those injected with the vaccine up to 50% of the time.
Additionally,
those who are protected by the vaccine seem to be unable to spread the virus to
others, so even if they are bitten by an infected mosquito, the insect will not
be able to transmit the virus.
Moving
Forward
Though it doesn’t offer 100% protection, this
vaccine is a great step forward in getting rid of the mosquito-borne virus that
affects so many people every year. In 2015 alone, there were an estimated 214 million cases of Malaria worldwide, according
to the World Health Organization. Imagine the impact this vaccine could make,
even with the 50% protection the vaccine currently offers — how many of those
214 million cases wouldn’t have to happen at all?
The vaccine in its current form is already
making an impact, both in areas affected by the virus and in the scientific
communities. The eventual goal is to use this vaccine to help prevent malaria
infections in African children, who are often the hardest hit by the disease.
