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Africa

Africa: Malaria Vaccine Breakthrough for Pregnant Women

todayAugust 29, 2024 1

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In a world first, the Sanaria PfSPZ malaria vaccine has been shown to protect expectant mothers from malaria before and during pregnancy.

Malaria vaccine breakthrough for pregnant women

29 August 2024

In a world first, the Sanaria PfSPZ malaria vaccine has been shown to protect expectant mothers from malaria before and during pregnancy.

Recently published findings in the The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal from a three-armed study in Mali in 2018-2021 on administering a malaria vaccine to women anticipating pregnancy show that those receiving the vaccine experienced significant efficacy against malaria infection and clinical malaria over two years, without the need for a booster dose. An exploratory analysis of women who went on to conceive during the study showed significant protection from malaria during pregnancy.

The study was led by investigators at the Malaria Research and Training Center in Bamako, Mali; the Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health; and Sanaria Inc.

This latest advancement comes at a time of increasing momentum and innovation in malaria prevention and is particularly significant for its focus on pregnant women, who have historically been excluded from clinical trials due to safety concerns. Malaria infection during pregnancy poses substantial risks to mothers, their unborn children and newborns, and can result in complications including miscarriage, stillbirth and maternal mortality.

To date, there have been no preventive medicines for women in their first trimester of pregnancy, and only one antimalarial medicine has been recommended by the World Health Organization for use in the first trimester to treat cases of uncomplicated malaria. These limited options leave pregnant women at risk of contracting and developing severe malaria, at a time when their immune systems are already more susceptible to disease.