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After the World Health Organization recommended the use of the first malaria vaccine of its kind in the world in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with medium to high levels of transmission, in the following lines we learn about the details of the new vaccine, according to the British newspaper “Daily Mail” website.
Experts predict that the new vaccine could save the lives of 260,000 African children every year, and the new malaria vaccine called RTS SIt requires four doses for children aged five months and older.
The vaccine has already been delivered to more than 800,000 children through an ongoing pilot program across Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
The World Health Organization said the data show the vaccine is safe and effective, and can be delivered to rural areas of the continent.
With more than 400,000 deaths globally each year, including more than 260,000 African children, experts believe a vaccine could significantly reduce the number of annual deaths over the next few years.
“It’s a historic moment…The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a scientific advance for child health and malaria control,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference on Wednesday.
“Using this vaccine in addition to existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of lives each year,” he added.
Malaria is a serious disease often caused by a parasite that usually infects Anopheles mosquitoes, which in turn transmits the disease to humans.
Malaria can also be transmitted, albeit less frequently, through blood transfusions, organ transplants, or sharing needles.
Patients often present with influenza-like illness including fever, headache, chills, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting.
About 400,000 people die from malaria globally each year, and children under five are more likely to contract it. A prick requires four doses for children aged five months and older.
The World Health Organization said acupuncture provides a 30% reduction in cases of severe, fatal malaria.
The drug company that produces the vaccine said that when the shot of the vaccine is given along with the seasonal administration of antimalarial drugs, the vaccine “reduces clinical episodes of malaria, hospitalizations for severe malaria, and deaths by about 70%.”
“This historic and long-awaited decision could reinvigorate malaria control in the region at a time when progress in malaria control has stalled,” Thomas Breuer, chief global health official, said in a statement.
Both real-world evidence and clinical trial data show that a vaccine RTS S Combined with other malaria prevention measures, it has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives.
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