Vaccine-Like Compound Protects Against Malaria: New Treatment for Deadly Disease

Scientists may have just found a vaccine for malaria-at least in mice. They've discovered that by injecting a vaccine-like compound into the rodents, they could protect the mice from the disease.

Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases. It kills as many as 1 million people per year, the majority of which are children in Africa. Malaria can be transferred from infected mosquitoes and while mosquito habitat modification and antimalarial treatments have led to a decline in malaria mortality, the disease still remains an issue.

Now, scientists may have taken a giant step forward when it comes to combating the disease. The researchers created a virus containing genes that were encoded to produce an antibody targeted to inhibit P. falciparum infection, which is the most lethal form of malaria. Then, the researchers injected mice with the virus. Surprisingly, the scientists found that 70 percent of the mice injected with the virus were protected from malaria-infected mosquito bites.

"We need better ways to fight malaria and our research suggests this could be a promising approach," said Gary Ketner, the study leader, in a news release. "Instead of playing defense, the host is playing offense."

This approach isn't just good for protecting against malaria in the short term, though. It's also possible that the body might be able to continue to produce the antibody that the virus introduces. With a vaccine, the natural immune response wanes over time and people require booster shots. This virus approach, though, is formulated to produce a specific antibody, which gives the host the tools it needs to target the malaria parasite.

"Our idea was to find a way for each individual to create a long-lasting response against malaria," said Cailin Deal, one of the researchers. "It's dose dependent. Of course, we don't know what the human dosage would be, but it's conceivable that the right dosage could completely protect against malaria."

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.