RTS,S or Mosquirix - World's First Malaria Vaccine

Why in news?

A pilot program testing a new malaria vaccine, RTS,S, or Mosquirix, began in the African country of Malawi.

What is Malaria?

The parasite gets transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito.
In the human liver, it can mature, multiply, re-enter the bloodstream, and infect red blood cells, which can lead to disease symptoms.

What is the RTS,S vaccine?

The RTS,S vaccine is the first, and to date, the only, vaccine that has demonstrated that it could significantly reduce malaria in children.
RTS,S is a scientific name given to this malaria vaccine candidate and represents its composition.
It aims to trigger the immune system to defend against the first stages of malaria.
This is when the parasite enters the human host’s bloodstream through a mosquito bite and infects liver cells.
The vaccine is designed to prevent the parasite from infecting the liver.
The vaccine has been developed by GSK (former GlaxoSmithKline), which is donating about 10 million doses of the product for the pilot.
It was created in 1987 by GSK, and was subsequently developed with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In clinical trials, the vaccine was found to prevent approximately 4 in 10 malaria cases, including 3 in 10 cases of life-threatening severe malaria.

What is the pilot programme?

The WHO welcomed the pilot project in Malawi of administering the malaria vaccine to children below the age of 2 years.
Malawi will be followed by Kenya and Ghana.

In the selected areas in the three countries, the vaccine will be given in four doses.
Three doses will be given between 5 and 9 months of age, and the fourth dose around the child’s second birthday.
A total of 3,60,000 children across the three African countries will be covered every year with the vaccine.
GSK will assess the results and also work with WHO and PATH to secure the vaccine’s sustained global health impact.
Once the pilots have been completed, the WHO will review the results and come out with its recommendations for the use of the vaccine.

How significant is this?

Malaria is certainly a major global public health challenge.
According to the WHO, malaria remains one of the world’s leading killers, claiming the life of a child every 2 minutes.
Most of these deaths are in Africa, where more than 2,50,000 children die from the disease every year.
Children under the age of 5, and poorest children among them, are at greatest risk from its life-threatening complications.
Worldwide, malaria kills 4,35,000 people a year, most of them children.
Moreover, with global warming on the rise, there are predictions of vectors such as mosquitos seeing an explosive rise the world over.
These include areas where they are traditionally not found.
The malaria vaccine thus has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives, especially of the children.

What is the case with India?

India ranks very high in the list of countries with a serious malaria burden.
Odisha (40%), Chhattisgarh (20%), Jharkhand (20%), Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram (5-7%) bear the brunt of malaria in India.
These states, along with the tribal areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, account for 90% of India’s malaria burden.
In 2018, around 3, 99,000 cases of malaria and 85 deaths due to the disease were reported in the country.
But there is a contention that India may be recording only just 8% of the actual number of malaria cases.
Although it is a notifiable disease, it is only voluntary notification as there are no penalties for doctors or hospitals not doing so.
60% to 80% of patients in the urban areas are treated by private doctors or health establishments, most of whom do not notify cases.

Source: Indian Express

Quick Fact

PATH

It advises and partners with public institutions, businesses, grassroots groups, and investors to tackle serious global health problems, including malaria.
Under its Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), PATH works with various stakeholders towards the development of a malaria vaccine.