What do we know about the malaria vaccines?

Of the five malaria-causing species, Plasmodium falciparum is the most dangerous especially for infants. Unfortunately because children below five years of age have not yet gained any degree of immunity, they are severely affected with possible fatal complications. This also applies to naive individuals infected for the first time. Infection does not confer solid immunity for indigenous residents of endemic areas, but allows an incomplete amount of acquired immunity resulting in less severe future attacks of malaria. However, even this naturally acquired partial immunity does not last unless the individual is continuously exposed to re-infection. Research for attaining more positive protection focused on preparation of vaccines from multiple phases in the life cycle of Plasmodium including attenuated whole organisms and recombinant proteins. The present editorial outlines different trials to obtain a successful malaria vaccine and underlines two malaria vaccines with promising outcome: a PfSPZ vaccine composed of P. falciparum sporozoites attenuated by irradiation, and manufactured by Sanaria Inc. and the recombinant fusion proteins formula (RTS,S/AS01) constructed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), commercially known under the trade name 'Mosquirix (TM)' (Glaxosmithkline plc, Brentwood, UK).