Giving women in Africa a malaria vaccine before they get pregnant could protect them against infection for almost two years without the need for a booster, according to scientists. The findings are a “tremendous advance” in protecting women against the potentially deadly disease, researchers said. They estimate severe malaria infection – or plasmodium falciparum – during pregnancy leads to 50,000 deaths and 200,000 stillbirths in Africa every year.
For the study, the team recruited 300 women in Mali who were planning to get pregnant in the coming year. Of the group, 100 were given a low dose of the vaccine, while 100 were given a high dose and 100 were given a placebo. After being jabbed, the women stopped using birth control and were followed up over two malaria seasons spanning almost two years.
Of the women who fell pregnant, their babies were also followed up to their first birthday. In the high dose group, efficiency of the vaccine against malaria infection was 86% during the first year in women who went on to get pregnant. The jab’s efficiency in the low dose group during pregnancy was 57% over the two seasons.
Researchers also found efficiency in the low dose group to be as high, or higher, in the second year as the first year at 61% without boosting. Alassane Dicko, who leads the team at the Malaria Research and Training Centre (MRTC) in Bamako, Mali, said: “This is a tremendous advance for protecting women against malaria before and during pregnancy.” V.