Success in finding a malaria vaccine that has plagued mankind for centuries

- Hasmukh Gajjar

- Experts believe that the malaria parasite is more deadly and complex than the corona, which changes itself by attacking the body's immune system. Mankind still has a long way to go to fight parasites

On October 8, 2021, the World Health Organization approved the world's first malaria vaccine. The malaria vaccine may seem common in the corona epidemic, but it should not be forgotten that the centuries-old deadly disease has not been vaccinated yet. With the development of agriculture and human settlements, parasites have evolved through mosquitoes. Corona has caused outcry, but malaria also kills half a million people a year, of which 2.50 million children are less than five years old. In the last 100 years, malaria has claimed millions of lives. Malaria is rare in Europe and America. In the United States, there are only about 3,000 cases each year, but in sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is still a major cause of death. According to the World Malaria Report-2020, 3 million cases of malaria were reported in the world in 2016. In 7 countries of the world, 3% of malaria cases are found. Nigeria, DRC Congo, Uganda, Mozambique and Niger accounted for 41% of the world's cases. If we talk about India, there were 20 million cases in the year 2000, which has come down to 4.5 million in 2016. India has been instrumental in reducing malaria in Southeast Asia. However, India still has a long way to go in making neighboring Sri Lanka malaria free. In the face of increasing modernity and urbanization in rural areas, there is a need to focus on improving semi-infrastructural facilities.

When the malaria vaccine research began in 190, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the Malaria Vaccine Initiative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also collaborated. The malaria vaccine was approved by European drug regulators in July 2015, but needed to be approved globally by the World Health Organization. Preliminary results of the experiments, which began in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi on April 3, 2016, were encouraging. In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that the use of newly invented vaccines in combination with other malaria drugs had reduced malaria infections and their mortality rates by as much as 30 percent. The vaccine developed by a company called GlaxoSmithKline is called Muscuricus, also known as RTS, S (recombinant protein based malaria vaccine). A total of four doses have been determined for the malaria vaccine. The first three doses will be given to children at five, six and seven months of age while the last booster dose will be given after 12 months. The newly discovered vaccine, including Plasmodium falciparum, is thought to be as effective as 3%. The New York Times reported, quoting the president of the malaria program, that the vaccine would protect against five types of parasitic diseases in addition to malaria. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an advisory on the results of the trial and believes that large-scale vaccination campaigns in sub-Saharan Africa and other malaria-prone areas will now reduce the number of malaria victims. The results of this intra muscular vaccine so far show that it is completely safe. A vaccine has been found in a short period of time to prevent Kovid-12 from the world's epidemic coronavirus, but more than 100 years have passed since the malaria vaccine. It is also important to know why it took so long to find a vaccine for malaria.

Experts believe that malaria parasites are more deadly and complex than corona. This parasite changes itself by attacking the immune system. It also infects liver cells and red blood cells by constantly changing after entering the body. The spread of malaria-infected mosquitoes continues to increase. These parasites can be killed with treatment and drug doses.

In addition, mosquito nets can be killed by the use of mosquito nets and spraying of pesticides. Although these are well-known remedies for malaria, it is the most ideal condition for the body to be resistant to malaria parasites by vaccination. Some have a natural immunity to malaria, but there is no guarantee of how long it will last.

The description of malaria type disease is very common in centuries old history. Hippocrates has described malaria type fever many times. In the Roman Empire the disease was associated with insects. In Rome, where there were problems with road construction and drainage, the disease was so severe that it was called Roman fever. However the word malaria comes from medieval Italian. Mala-area means bad air. The word first appeared in English literature in about 12 years.

In earlier times when there was no medicine, the people of Peru in South America traditionally used the bark of a tree called Cinco. The bark of this tree, found in the slopes of the Andes Mountains, was found to contain a quinine-like element. By the end of the 19th century, the drug had spread to Europe.

In modern times, in 180 CE, a French physician named Charles Louis Alphon was working at Constantine's Military Hospital in Algeria. He was the first to observe parasites inside the red blood cells of infected people. In 1905, British doctor Ronald Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize for his research into the spread of malaria parasites by mosquitoes. Since then, much research has been done on malaria parasites and types of mosquitoes. Some species of mosquitoes also spread malaria in birds.

With the discovery of the first vaccine after 100 years of malaria research, some pharmaceutical companies are also developing vaccines. Some malaria vaccines are undergoing the final stages of research and trials. Some RNAs are based on peptides. The 100 per cent guaranteed vaccine has not yet been developed. Scientists believe that the biggest problem is that there are different types of malaria parasites, so it is challenging to develop a 100 per cent sticky vaccine.