Mosquirix malaria vaccine
Date: 08 October 2021 Tags: MiscellaneousIssue
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has endorsed RTS,S/ASO1 (RTS.S) vaccine, better known as Mosquirix.
Background
Mosquirix is the only vaccine till now to show efficacy against reducing malaria, and life-threatening severe malaria in children.
Details
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The vaccine has been tested among children of Africa. The vaccine targets P. falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite globally.
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Initial studies showed that the vaccine was able to prevent approximately 4 in 10 cases of malaria over a 4-year period.
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The vaccine has received very favourable response from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and becomes the first malaria vaccine to complete the clinical development process.
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Currently, countries such as Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi have included the vaccine in their childhood immunization programmes to provide protection against the deadly disease.
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Along with other methods, this vaccine can be administered in areas where malaria is highly seasonal and spreads over a short period.
Administering
The malaria vaccine should be administered in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age. It will enhance the already existing malaria toolkit.
Malaria burden
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Malaria is a parasitic disease that is caused due to biting of female Anopheles mosquitoes. The disease is life-threatening.
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Children below the age of five years are most vulnerable to disease. They account for 67% of all malaria deaths worldwide.
Malaria-free countries
Number of countries becoming malaria-free is gradually increasing. A country has to record at least 3 consecutive years of zero indigenous cases of malaria to get certification of malaria elimination.
Recent countries
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United Arab Emirates (2007)
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Morocco (2010)
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Turkmenistan (2010)
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Armenia (2011)
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Sri Lanka (2016)
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Kyrgyzstan (2016)
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Paraguay (2018)
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Uzbekistan (2018)
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Algeria (2019)
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Argentina (2019)
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El Salvador (2021)