ACCORDING to the WHOTrusted Source, malaria is an infectious disease that occurs due to the transmission of parasites to a person by mosquito bites that carry the infection.
Around 409,000 people died from malaria in 2019, 67% (274,000) of whom were children under 5 years old. In 2019, 94% of deaths and cases of malaria occurred in Africa.
The malaria parasite P. falciparum is particularly dangerous — in Africa, it accounts for 99.7% of estimated cases.
A person will typically only experience symptoms 10–15 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Initial symptoms may be mild, including headache and fever, and it can be hard to tell whether they indicate malaria. However, these symptoms can quickly become life threatening without treatment in the first 24 hours.
According to Dr. Matthew B. Laurens, of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, and the author of a study in the journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, a person with mild malaria has a less than 1% chance of death.
However, an individual with severe malaria has a 90% chance of death if they stay at home and a 20% chance if they receive treatment at the hospital.
According to Dr. Laurens, the development of the RTS,S vaccine comes at an ideal time.
While malaria mortality has reduced due to the promotion of more effective control measures, this reduction in deaths has stalled in recent years.
The RTS,S vaccine offers hope that mortality rates will begin to fall again. By 2030, the WHO aims to reduce mortality by 90% from May 2015 levels.
The WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom GhebreyesusTrusted Source, says, “[t]his is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health, and malaria control. Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, adds: “[f]or centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering.”
