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Africa: African Scientists Close to Malaria Vaccine
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This Day (Lagos)
30 April 2008
Posted to the web 30 April 2008
Lagos
African research scientists are close to discovering "a safe and effective malaria vaccine," according to a WHO consultant in Accra.
"We are closer than ever before to having a safe and effective malaria vaccine that will make a positive impact on the economy and the capacity of our health care system," Dr Daniel Ansong of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology School of Medical Sciences, Kumasi, Ghana, told a forum to mark World Malaria Day.
Speaking on the topic "The search for malaria vaccine , where are we now?", Ansong said the research on the vaccine in Ghana and other African countries was "progressing well".He said the vaccine was being tried in Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Gabon, Burkina Faso and Mozambique.Some two million people die of malaria each year, according to the WHO.
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Ansong said the vaccine would be a key component of the fight against malaria which kills about one million children annually. He pointed out that vaccines were playing an important role in the prevention of diseases such as tuberculosis, polio and tetanus.
The scientist said results from the Mozambique trials showed a 49 per cent efficacy against severe malaria for 18 months in children between one and four years.
He said some 160,000 children were expected to be recruited across Africa for the third phase of the trial to determine the safety of the vaccine on a larger scale."We can no longer fold our arms and accept the burden it (malaria) imposes," Ansong said.
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