Scientists find ‘concerning’ flaw in malaria diagnostics

Current methods can vastly overestimate the rates that malaria parasites are multiplying in an infected person’s blood, which has important implications for determining how harmful they could be to a host, according to a new report. The findings also have consequences for understanding the evolution of traits that lead to drug resistance, how quickly a parasite might spread through a […]

A three-dose malaria vaccine shows safety, efficacy in West African adults

A three-dose regimen of a whole-parasite vaccine against malaria — called Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite (PfSPZ) vaccine — demonstrated safety and efficacy when tested in adults living in Burkina Faso, West Africa, which has endemic malaria. That is the finding of a new study published on Dec. 7, 2022, in Science Translational Medicine. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s […]

Unexpected antibody type found in people with malaria infections

Malaria, a pathogen transmitted into blood by mosquitoes in tropical climates, is typically thought of as a blood and liver infection. However, in a newly published study, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have detected antibodies primarily made in response to infections in the mucous membranes — in such areas as the lungs, intestines, or vagina […]

CHMP recommends Artesunate Amivas for the initial treatment of severe malaria – Amivas

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorisation for the medicinal product Artesunate Amivas, intended for initial treatment of severe malaria in adults and children. The applicant for this medicinal product is Amivas Ireland Ltd. Artesunate Amivas will be available as 110 mg powder and solvent for solution […]

Investigational malaria vaccine gives strong, lasting protection

Two U.S. Phase 1 clinical trials of a novel candidate malaria vaccine have found that the regimen conferred unprecedentedly high levels of durable protection when volunteers were later exposed to disease-causing malaria parasites. The vaccine combines live parasites with either of two widely used antimalarial drugs–an approach termed chemoprophylaxis vaccination. A Phase 2 clinical trial of the vaccine is now […]