Mosquitoes Can Distribute Malaria Vaccine

2009-08-01 16:12:32 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Medical News, News)

Mosquitoes may potentially be beneficial in distibuting a malaria vaccine.

A new study shows potential in developing an effective malaria vaccine.

Press Release Service – Wired PR News – A new study showed mosquitoes could be beneficial in delivering a vaccine for malaria, which reportedly kills an estimated one million people every year. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), scientists used an experiment to test whether the insects could deliver a vaccine through their bites. Individuals who were put into a vaccine group were shown to have developed an immunity to malaria when exposed to parasites carrying the disease after being vaccinated.

Dr. Carlos Campbell with PATH, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, is quoted by the AP as writing in an editorial regarding the study, “Malaria vaccines are moving from the laboratory into the real world.” Campbell further notes that the study “reminds us that the whole malaria parasite is the most potent immunizing” instrument, despite the difficulty in developing a vaccine using the approach on a large scale.

The study was published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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