Malaria vaccine basics

Malaria vaccine basics

Malaria is one of humanity's oldest and most deadly foes, in 2019 there were 229 million infections resulting in 409 000 deaths. Vaccines are one of the most successful healthcare interventions therefore a highly effective vaccine for malaria is crucial to win the fight against this parasite.

The research undertaken in the Draper group focuses on the development of novel and improved approaches to blood-stage malaria vaccine design, as well as aiming to better understand molecular mechanisms of vaccine-induced immunity to blood-stage malaria infection. Our work focusses on both of the major parasites that cause substantial disease in humans – Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Highly effective vaccines are needed for both parasites if we are to drive down malaria towards zero in endemic areas.

Alongside vaccines, the Draper group is also working on the isolation of human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from vaccinated volunteers in clinical trials for both malaria and Ebola, seeking to understand the human antibody response to key antigens and to further develop these for prophylactic or therapeutic human delivery.

What is malaria?

Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite from the group Plasmodium. There are five species of malaria parasite that can infect humans: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi. Of these P. falciparum is the most dangerous and causes the majority of deaths, primarily in young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria symptoms typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases it can cause seizures, coma, or death. A second parasite, P. vivax, is more widespread and causes significant disease outside of Africa; this parasite can also go dormant in the liver leading to waves of relapsing disease over many months or even years. 

Malaria is spread by infected Anopheles mosquitos. The life cycle has multiple stages including a liver stage, blood stage (asexual reproduction) and a mosquito stage. These are outlined in the image below.  

What are Vaccines?

Vaccines are a specific kind of medical intervention that can prevent an infectious disease by providing immunity against a pathogen. They are designed to stimulate the immune system to learn how to fight an infectious disease and then remember that pathogen so you can defend yourself against it in the future. Below are two excellent videos by the journal Nature that describe how vaccines work and how they are developed. 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/4SKmAlQtAj8

What do we do?

Why do we want to make a malaria vaccine? How is a vaccine developed? This short video answers the key malaria vaccine questions.