Everyone involved in malaria control has a fervent wish a malaria vaccine is found.
Recent results from an ongoing trial are therefore disappointing.
The trial’s report concludes: ‘The efficacy of RTS,S/AS01E vaccine over the 4-year period was 16.8%. Efficacy declined over time and with increasing malaria exposure.’
Reuters reports: ‘The disappointing results for RTS,S - the world's first potential malaria vaccine - raise further questions about whether it can make a difference in the fight against the disease, a major cause of illness and death among children in sub-Saharan Africa. "The results are kind of disappointing because we'd all like to see a malaria vaccine that has closer to 80 percent or 100 percent efficacy," said Christopher Plowe, a malaria researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the United States, who was not involved in the RTS,S trial. There is currently no vaccine that offers complete protection against malaria. Control measures such as insecticide-treated bednets, indoor spraying and anti-malaria drugs have helped cut malaria cases and deaths significantly in recent years, but drug resistance is growing and experts say an effective vaccine could be a vital tool in eradicating the disease.’
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We have just passed $17m raised, 4 million nets funded and our 60,000th donation!
Thank you for your support which has helped protect many people from malaria.
The next two milestones we hope to reach are:
- 500,000 people participating/ed in fundraising initiatives - currently we are at 476,028. If you could organise a fundraising activity - be it just you, or a group of friends or some people at work - please do! An opportunity to have fun too.
- Increasing our base of recurring donations from $40,000 per month to $80,000 a month, so we can approach $1m per year. Recurring donations help us plan and 100% buys nets and we include more information here.
Thank you again,
Rob
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