Malaria vaccine may save lives of thousands of children: study

By using mathematical models, an international team predicted that the world's first malaria vaccine could potentially prevent up to one in four malaria deaths in young children, according to a new study released Friday by the Imperial College London.

Known as "RTS,S", the vaccine is designed to prevent malaria disease caused by the P. falciparum parasite, and its effectiveness was demonstrated in large-scale trials in Africa last year.

Researchers from Imperial College London, the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and other international institutions carried out the study. They used data from the vaccine trials to predict large-scale effectiveness, if it was rolled-out across areas in sub-Saharan Africa with moderate to high levels of malaria.

They found that over a 15-year period, 484 deaths would be averted for every 100,000 children vaccinated. Because children experience repeated attacks of malaria in the first few years of life, for every 100,000 children vaccinated, an average of 116,500 cases of malaria disease would be averted, according to the study.

The authors stressed that the results accounted for vaccine use alongside long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets.

"Our numbers indicate that six to 29 percent of malaria deaths in children younger than age five could potentially be averted by the vaccine in the areas in which it is implemented, when used alongside other malaria control interventions," said Dr Melissa Penny, one of the study authors, from the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

The scientists also found that the vaccine would be cost effective at five U.S. dollars or less per dose, in areas of moderate and high malaria transmission.

"The cost-effectiveness of the vaccine is similar to what we've seen for other recently introduced childhood vaccines," said Professor Azra Ghani, an author of the study from Imperial College London.

"It also overlaps within the ranges of cost-effectiveness of other malaria control interventions like bed nets and indoor residual sprays. However, it is important that the vaccine is introduced in addition to these other highly cost-effective interventions," said Ghani.

But the authors cautioned that there was still uncertainty over the long-term efficacy of the vaccine, as the previous trials had only tracked children for four years following immunization.

Furthermore, since trials of the vaccine were not large enough to test for reduction in deaths from malaria, and the quality of care provided to study participants was high, the projection of deaths requires further validation. Endit