A small clinical trial of a malaria vaccine funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has delivered positive data, triggering a move to expand the research into a second trial that enlisted 400 children in Mali. The NIAID says that the 60 adults in the first trial all tolerated the vaccine very well and demonstrated a strong immune response. Mahamadou Thera at the University of Bamako, Mali led the trial, recruiting volunteers in a small town where malaria is rife--particularly during the rainy season. They each received three injections of the experimental vaccine or a rabies vaccine for the control arm of the study. The people who received the malaria vaccine experienced a six-fold growth of vaccine specific antibodies while patients getting the rabies vaccine saw their antibody levels drop with the end of the rainy season.
- here's the release
- check out the AFP report
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