Research brief: Malaria vaccine hope
A malaria vaccine developed in the US can prevent infection in some cases, according to a Cochrane review. The review included 11 studies carried out on more than 3,000 people that tested five vaccines designed to target early-stage malaria. Four of the five vaccines were ineffective, but the RTSS vaccine reduced the number of clinical malaria episodes in children in Mozambique by 26 per cent for up to 18 months (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2006; 4).