Vaccination Against Malaria: A Vaccine, How To Protect Yourself From The Disease

Malaria is an insidious disease that requires specific treatment. Vaccination against malaria so far cannot protect a person. It just doesn't exist. For each specific location of the spread of the disease, it is required to take a certain option of prophylactic drugs. The causative agent quickly adapts and shows resistance to drugs.

Content

• 1 Prevention of the disease
• 2 Avoid insect bites
• 3 New protection against malaria
• 4 Features of Moskiriks
• 5 Be mindful of how you feel
• 6 The causative agent does not sleep
• 7 First successes
• 8 Principle of drug action
• 9 Americans have worked on the mosquito genome
• 10 Conclusions

Prevention of the disease

A vaccine for malaria is under development. Today, pills are the only medication used to protect against malaria. Among the antimalarial drugs, Chloroquine, Plaquenil, Lariam, Primahine, Chloridin, Bigumal stand out. Manufacturers recommend adults to take pills once a day, and children - every other day or once a week, depending on the strength of the drug. The optimal dosage should be determined by the doctor.

Avoid insect bites

Every tourist should know how to protect themselves from malaria while on holiday:

1. It is necessary to provide protection against mosquito bites while staying in the premises of the sanatorium, hotel, as well as on the street.
2. To maximize protection of exposed surfaces of the body, in the evenings wear long sleeves, jeans, trousers, an elongated dress in a light shade, which will less attract insects.
3. Apply repellents to your arms, neck, face. They are now available in the form of aerosols, lotions, creams.
4. At dusk, stay indoors where mosquitoes cannot fly. Windows and doors should be covered with curtains or have a special mosquito net.
5. You can treat the room with an aerosol agent, install a Raptor or other device that exterminates insects.

New protection against malaria

The creation of a drug for medical vaccinations that protects a person from illness is almost complete. The first vaccine will be tested in 2018 in Ghana, Malawia, Kenya. Based on the results of this pilot project, WHO will already decide on the widespread use of Moskiriks or RTS, S.

It is planned to vaccinate babies 5-17 months of age. The injection will be administered intramuscularly four times: first, once for three months in a row, and then again six months later. The drug has been successfully tested in the laboratory and approved by the European Medicines Agency.

Features of Moskiriks

The category of babies was not accidentally chosen to participate in the tests. It is in this age group that the worst clinical trials have taken place. The vaccine worked four times out of a possible ten. Antimalarial vaccination must be done four times. The fourth dose is critical; without it, the effect of the drug is significantly reduced. Later it will be possible to say how effective and safe the medicine is for humans.

Be mindful of how you feel

During your stay in a country with a widespread malaria and for several years after returning from a trip with any ailment, an increase in temperature, you should immediately visit a doctor, informing him that you have visited a tropical country.

If a doctor is not available, try to buy antimalarial drugs and take them as directed. At the first opportunity, you need to visit a medical facility. Forms of malaria are diverse, so after being bitten by a mosquito-carrier, you can get sick even after a year.

Following simple prevention rules will help reduce the likelihood of developing a disease

The causative agent does not sleep

Every year, the disease affects over 200 million people worldwide, and one in five people who become ill die

Microorganisms from the species Plasmodium falciparum are the causative agents of the most dangerous and common form of the disease with multiple complications and an increased mortality rate. Until recently, despite numerous studies, no cure for malaria has been developed. Mainly drugs were created from weakened plasmodia or their fragments, therefore they could not guarantee a high level of protection.

First successes

In February 2017, a group of scientists from different countries announced the successful completion of the first phase of clinical trials of a composite malaria vaccine. The vaccine of increased efficiency was the result of the joint work of specialists from Sanaria (USA) and teachers of the University of Tubingen. The preparation is based on live malaria plasmodia taken from mosquitoes.

The tests were 100% positive. The vaccine showed its protective functions ten weeks after administration. The volunteers were injected with parasitic organisms into the blood using the traditional vaccination technique. 67 people who had never suffered from malaria were invited for the tests. They were divided into several groups. The first group received three doses of the vaccine every four weeks. Throughout the entire period, the subjects took the prophylactic agent Chloroquine. 2.5 months later, after the introduction of live plasmodia, none of them fell ill with malaria. In all likelihood, specific T-lymphocytes, antibodies directed against the parasites nesting in the liver, worked.

The principle of the drug

The remaining groups of participants in the experiment underwent similar trials with different doses and periods of vaccination. No side effects of the protective agent were found. The first option was recognized as the most effective - the introduction of large doses three times every 28 days. More research will show how long the vaccine lasts. Doctors note that people lose their immunity against the pathogen years after moving from a region with malaria. This vaccine will be used for the time being to protect people leaving for the southern countries for a short time.

Americans have worked on the mosquito genome

American scientists have created mosquitoes that can resist malaria. A new resistant gene has been introduced into the insects' DNA. If such a mosquito bites a person infected with malaria, then the parasite, entering the insect's body, will not be able to live there. The offspring of a genetically modified mosquito will inherit a new ability.

While mosquitoes with a new form of DNA live in laboratory conditions. Field tests await them ahead. If tested positive, people will have another way to fight malaria that will help slow the spread of malaria.

conclusions

The first important steps towards creating a vaccine against a dangerous microorganism have already been taken. Let's hope that soon, malaria vaccinations will be available to everyone, and we can actively confront this disease.