new vaccine could eradicate malaria by 2040

the illness, spread by mosquitoes, kills 400,000 people a year, most of them in africa, and most of them babies.

by maija kappler

published sep 13, 2022

last updated feb 10, 2023

4 minute read

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4 minute read

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there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria last year

malaria is a disease specific to tropical areas. but there are real-world benefits to a malaria vaccine for people living in non-tropical climates, too. getty

researchers at oxford university’s jenner institute have developed a vaccine for malaria that researchers say could have a “world-changing” impact.

malaria is caused by a parasite spread through infected mosquitoes. last year, there were an estimated 241 million cases, according to the world health organization (who), and over 400,000 deaths. the vast majority of cases are in african countries, and deaths are mostly in babies.

the oxford researchers are optimistic about the vaccine, which they say could potentially eradicate malaria by 2040. professor adrian hill, one of the vaccine’s creators and the director of the jenner institute, told the guardian it was “the best [malaria] vaccine yet.”

while the vaccine trial was fairly small — it examined 409 children between the ages of five and 17 months in nanoro, burkina faso — the results, published in the lancet, are encouraging: three initial vaccine doses, plus a booster one year later, offered up to 80 per cent protection. there were no notable side effects.

the vaccine, which should be rolled out next year, is inexpensive to produce, and scientists already have a deal to manufacture over 100 million doses.

government may cut funding

but some scientists are concerned that the u.k.’s new government might cut their funding. hill has asked the new british prime minister liz truss to continue funding global health.

“it would be tragic if suddenly, as new tools become available, and we can have a real impact — and that’s not hard to see now by getting these [vaccines] out there — if we were to just we turn off the taps on funding. and there is a risk of that,” hill told the guardian.

why malaria is so difficult to fight

inoculations against malaria have been underway for more than 100 years, according to bbc news. it’s an especially complex illness that’s difficult to treat, because it’s constantly changing forms within the body.

one of the vaccine’s creators, professor katie ewer, told bbc news that this is the fourteenth malaria jab she’s worked on. “this is not like covid where we have seven vaccines straight away that will work… it’s much, much harder,” she told the outlet.

malaria causes headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sweats or chills and stomach or muscle pain. it can be difficult to track because symptoms often appear quite a while after exposure — sometimes up to a week later, health canada says.

it’s generally treated with prescription drugs that will fight off the parasite. but if malaria isn’t treated “urgently and aggressively,” the agency says, it may cause seizures, coma, renal failure or respiratory failure.

finally achieving a successful malaria vaccine after all this time has been “incredibly gratifying,” ewer said.

“the potential achievement that this vaccine could have if it’s rolled out could be really world-changing.”

anti-malarial drugs can have severe side effects

malaria is a disease specific to tropical areas. while most cases are in africa, it’s also a major problem in south and southeast asia, parts of central and south america, and the pacific islands. but there are real-world benefits to a malaria vaccine for people living in non-tropical climates, too.

wealthy travellers to those parts of the world are usually prescribed the anti-malarial drug mefloquine hydrochloride (often sold under the brand names lariam, mephaquin and mefliam). but those drugs come with the risk of severe neurological size effects, which can range from dizziness, ringing ears and loss of balance to nightmares, anxiety, depression and hallucinations.

“one night i was sitting in a chair, just staring at a wall, when the wall started to move. the colours were changing, patterns were forming in the shape of faces, and the wall shifted in circles,” a student named tim notee told the guardian in 2015 about his experience taking the anti-malarial lariam while spending time in ghana. in an article titled “my anti-malaria drugs made me psychotic,” notee said that he shaved his head, stopped taking his allergy medication and wearing his contact lenses, lost more than 20 pounds, frequently hallucinated, believed people on tv were trying to communicate with him, and formed a new religion (“a mixture of christianity, islam and my own reflections”). he spent four months in psychiatric care in the netherlands, where he was treated for larium-induced psychosis.

according to a 2013 paper published in journal of the american academy of psychiatry and the law, exposure to mefloquine has been linked to acts of violence and self-harm. in 2013, the u.s. food and drug administration strengthened the warnings on those drugs.

maija kappler is a reporter and editor at healthing. you can reach her at mkappler@postmedia.com

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