Malaria vaccine.

3.2 billion people are currently at risk of contracting malaria, thus scientists have experimentally developed a live, genetically attenuated vaccine for Plasmodium. The vaccine made from plasmodium responsible for the disease by identifying and deleting one of the parasite's genes, the scientists enabled it to induce an effective, long-lasting immune response in a mouse model. An effective vaccine is needed to combat this disease, but the complex biological make-up of Plasmodium and the many strategies the parasite has evolved to outmaneuver the host immune response mean that developing a malaria vaccine is a difficult task. One notable feature of patients infected by the malaria parasite is the difficulty in mounting a long-lasting protective immune response. Premunition, or relative immunity, is only acquired after several years of exposure. An important feature during malaria infection is that the parasite prevents the establishment of immunological memory. continue