Categories: News

Vaccines To Fight Malaria Will Soon Be In Market

2005 James Gathany, Frank Collins This photograph depicts a Anopheles funestus mosquito partaking in a blood meal from its human host. Note the blood passing through the proboscis, which has penetrated the skin, and entered a miniscule cutaneous blood vessel. The Anopheles funestus mosquito, which along with Anopheles gambiae, is one of the two most important malaria vectors in Africa, where more than 80% of the world's malarial disease and deaths occurs. Humans infected with malaria parasites can develop a wide range of symptoms. These vary from asymptomatic infections, i.e., no apparent illness, to the classic symptoms of malaria including fever, chills, sweating, headaches, muscle pains, to severe complications such as cerebral malaria, anemia, and kidney failure, and even death. The severity of the symptoms depends on several factors, including the species of infecting parasite, and the infected humanís acquired immunity and genetic background.

A new antimicrobial malaria vaccine to help fight malaria will soon be released into the market.

This was revealed by Prof. Catherine Falade, a Malariologist, researcher and Consultant Clinical Pharmacologist at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

“New researches are on-going to develop new antimicrobial medicines and vaccines to tackle malaria- resistance which has now become a burden to public health.

“This development would assist in stemming the scourge of antimicrobial resistance which has become a global threat to health care.

“Antibiotic resistance is present in every country. Patients with infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria are at risk of worse clinical outcomes and death.

“They consume more health-care resources than patients infected with non-resistant strains of the same bacteria.

“As at July 2016, resistance to the first –line treatment for P. falciparum malaria(Artemisinin-based combination therapies also known as (ACTs), has been confirmed in five countries of the Greater Mekong sub –region.

“The Greater Mekong sub-region include Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, ‘’ she said.

According to the researcher, the spread of resistant strains to other parts of the world, including Nigeria, has now become a major public health challenge.

She called for coordinated action globally to minimise the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance to malaria, adding that “ all countries need national action plans for malaria-resistant drugs.’’