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Mixed results for a malaria vaccine

Nature Medicine volume 17, pages 1560–1561 (2011)Cite this article

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Victor Nussenzweig

Bed nets impregnated with insecticides and various chemotherapeutic regimens have been used to control malaria with some success. However, eradication of malaria will only be accomplished by getting rid of poverty or by a vaccine that is at least 80% effective, long lasting, easy to administer and affordable. RTS,S does not fulfill these criteria. Nevertheless, the achievements of this vaccine are remarkable. In several phase 2 trials it consistently protected between 30–50% of children and adults living in endemic areas2. The latest results of a phase 3 trial of RTS,S in 11 sites in seven countries in Africa led to a reduction of about 50% in clinical malaria cases after 12 months of follow-up of thousands of children1. Notably, RTS,S-mediated protection was in addition to bed net usage.

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Competing interests

A.V.S.H. has collaborated with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in assessment of RTS,S vaccines and is a developer of other malaria vaccine candidates.

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Mixed results for a malaria vaccine. Nat Med 17, 1560–1561 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1211-1560

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