Mosquirix (malaria vaccine)

Malaria

Main article: Malaria

2021: WHO approves world's first malaria vaccine

On October 6, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved the use of the world's first malaria vaccine and recommended that it be launched worldwide. A drug called Mosquirix was developed by GlaxoSmithKline.

Mosquirix is not just the first malaria vaccine, but also the first vaccine developed against any parasitic disease. Parasites are much more complex than viruses or bacteria, and the search for a malaria vaccine has been going on for a hundred years.

WHO approves world's first malaria vaccine - Mosquirix

In 2020, a study was conducted according to which if the vaccine is distributed in countries with the highest incidence of malaria, it will be able to prevent 5.4 million cases of the disease and 23 thousand deaths among children under 5 years of age in 1 year. A recent vaccine trial combined with prophylactic drugs prescribed to children during high morbidity seasons has shown that a dual approach is much more effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization and death than either of these methods alone.

The mosquito-borne malaria parasite is a particularly insidious enemy, as it can affect the same person over and over again. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, even where most people sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets, children on average have malaria six times a year. Even if the disease is not fatal, a repeated attack on the child's body can permanently change his immune system, making him weak and vulnerable to other pathogens. Against this background, the new vaccine, even with modest effectiveness, is the best new achievement in the fight against the disease in decades, some experts say.

After clinical trials, the vaccine was tested in three countries such as Kenya, Malawi and Ghana, where it was included in routine immunization programs. In these countries, more than 2.3 million doses were introduced, which reached more than 800 thousand children. This increased the percentage of children protected against malaria in one way or another to more than 90%, compared with less than 70%.

According to WHO, about 0.5 million people die from malaria every year, almost all of them live in sub-Saharan Africa, including 260,000 children under the age of 5.^[1]

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