U.S. researchers announced Thursday a breakthrough in the search for a malaria vaccine which could potentially save millions of lives per year.
According to a study published in the journal Science, researchers from the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health, in Maryland, said they discovered a vaccine that protected 12 out of 15 patients from the disease.
The vaccine, which consists of injecting live but weakened malaria-causing parasites directly into patients to trigger immunity, was effective when given in high doses.
Mosquitoes carry malaria - a potentially-fatal disease that affected 26 million people worldwide in 2011, says the World Health Organization. The only protections we currently have against malaria infection are insect repellent, netting, and medications. According to NPR, however, if all goes well with further testing, the vaccine could be ready for widespread use by late 2017 or early 2018.
"We were excited and thrilled by the result, but it is important that we repeat it, extend it and do it in larger numbers," said lead author Dr Robert Seder.
The trials involved 57 subjects, including 40 who received the vaccine, from October 2011 to October 2012. They were then all exposed to the malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
The researchers discovered that for the participants not given any vaccine, and those given low doses, almost all became infected with malaria.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the infectious disease institute, called the results an "important step forward" in preventing malaria.
"The global burden of malaria is extraordinary and unacceptable," Fauci said in a statement issued by the institute. "Scientists and health care providers have made significant gains in characterizing, treating and preventing malaria; however, a vaccine has remained an elusive goal."
