아프리카 의료진들은 가장 치명적인 열대지방의 질환으로 이름이 나 있는 말라리아(malaria)의 실험용 백신들에 관한 초기의 성과들로 인하여 매우 흥분되어 있는 상태라고 금요일(현지시각)에 발표하였다.
Experimental Vaccine Shows Promise Against Malaria
African doctors said on Friday they are excited by early results of an experimental vaccine against malaria, the world's deadliest tropical disease.
Trails of the vaccine, developed by drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc, showed it was 34 percent effective in protecting adults against the mosquito-borne disease that kills 2.7 million people each year.
Dr. Kalifa Bojang, of the Medical Research Council Laboratories in Banjul, The Gambia, said the results are encouraging because they show scientists are on the right track in defeating the disease.
"We are very excited by these results," he said in a telephone interview.
"The important thing to bear in mind is that this 34 percent was in adults and the immune response in children might be different. There are plans now to test this vaccine in children and we might see a better result," he added.
Three-quarters of malaria victims are children.
Developing an effective vaccine against the disease has been a top priority for public health officials because of malaria's high death toll, particularly in Africa where the disease is most prevalent, and the economic burden of the illness.
Although effective drugs are available, the malaria parasite has developed resistance to many treatments and a vaccine is the seen as one of the best hopes of curtailing the disease.
VACCINE DEVELOPMENT DIFFICULT
"Malaria vaccine development has been very difficult, partly because of the technical challenges involved," said Bojang, referring to the parasite's complexity and how it evades the immune system.
"We are encouraged by this result because it means we are on the right path and that we can look forward to trying to develop a better vaccine."
The vaccine, known by the code name RTS,S/AS02, prevents the malaria parasite from infecting red blood cells. The parasite invades the blood cells and adheres to other cells and prevents them from launching an immune response.
Bojang and his team tested three doses of vaccine on 131 men in The Gambia. They said their results, which are reported in The Lancet medical journal, show it is safe and effective. A fourth dose boosted effectiveness to 47 percent.
Trials of the vaccine will be expanded into Mozambique where it will be tested on children aged one to five years old.
Malaria is transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito. It causes fever, muscle stiffness and shaking and sweating. Cerebral malaria, the most dreaded form of the illness, can kill within 24 hours.
The World Health Organization estimates there are 500 million cases of malaria each year.
Scientists have also created a genetically modified malaria mosquito in what they hope will be the first step in controlling the transmission of the disease by manipulating mosquito genes.
출처 : http://news.lycos.com/news/story.asp?section=Science&storyId=295796
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