VATIS UPDATE Article

A new malaria vaccine developed by scientists at Griffith University, Australia, has passed its first test in early human trials. The vaccine, called PlasProtecT, consists of inactivated human malaria parasites which have been prevented from growing and causing a malaria infection. The vaccine works by stimulating a natural immune response which can protect a person for years against the mosquito-borne disease.

Lead researcher Michael Good, at Griffith’s Institute for Glycomics, was the first person to be immunised. “I wouldn’t ask people to do what I wouldn’t be prepared to do, and we couldn’t do this without the volunteers who give their time to us knowing they are helping further work towards a cure,” said Good. It was later tested on another 11 people and proven to be safe and effective.

“This is a world first. We are the first to put a vaccine like this into humans that has potential to protect against multiple strains and species of malaria,” said Gold Coast Health Director of Infectious Diseases. PlasProtecT represents a huge step forward in the fight against malaria. The trials have shown that this human immune response also recognises other strains and even other species of the parasite.