The search for a malaria vaccine could soon be over after a successful Australian-led trial.
The results, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, saw mice develop immunity to multiple strains of the disease.
“We found that if you take blood stage parasite in red blood cells and treat it with a chemical that binds the DNA and then administer that as a vaccine to mice, and you can get protection against the strain, they'll be immunised”, says Griffith University's Jennifer Reiman, one of the authors of the study.
The vaccine is now ready for human trials, and researchers are hoping adult males in South-East Queensland might be willing volunteers.
“If that turns out to be safe then we can go on and do clinical trials in areas where there's malaria”, Ms Reiman says.
Most malaria deaths occur in Africa, where mosquitos that transmit the disease are prevalent.
Symptoms can include fever, headaches, chills and in severe cases can involve seizures and breathing difficulty.
Around 660,000 people are estimated to have died from malaria in 2010, according to World Health Organisation figures.
With one African child dying every minute from the illness, it's very young children who would benefit most from a vaccine.
“Most of the malaria deaths are in children under the age of five, typically in sub-Saharan Africa and there are also cases in South-East Asia, Central and South America”, says Ms Reiman.
There are currently no licensed vaccines, and those at risk rely on preventions such insecticide-treated bed nets and spraying the home with pesticides to eliminate the infected mosquitos.
Ms Reiman says it will be at least five to ten years before the vaccine could be available, but it's seen as the best hope to eliminate the disease.
“There are some drugs that are out there that are being used so when someone becomes infected with malaria they can take these, but the parasites are always evolving resistance to these drugs, so that's why we think a vaccine on malaria is really important”, Ms Reiman told SBS.
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