Why in news?

A pilot program testing a new malaria vaccine, RTS,S, or Mosquirix, began in the African country of Malawi.

What is Malaria?

• Malaria is a potentially life-threatening parasitic disease.
• It is caused by the parasites -

1. Plasmodium viviax (P.vivax)
2. Plasmodium falciparum (P.falciparum)
3. Plasmodium malariae (P.malariae)
4. Plasmodium ovale (P.ovale)

• The parasite gets transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito.
• In the human liver, it can mature, multiply, re-enter the bloodstream, and infect red blood cells, which can lead to disease symptoms.

What is the RTS,S vaccine?

• The RTS,S vaccine is the first, and to date, the only, vaccine that has demonstrated that it could significantly reduce malaria in children.
• RTS,S is a scientific name given to this malaria vaccine candidate and represents its composition.
• It aims to trigger the immune system to defend against the first stages of malaria.
• This is when the parasite enters the human host’s bloodstream through a mosquito bite and infects liver cells.
• The vaccine is designed to prevent the parasite from infecting the liver.
• The vaccine has been developed by GSK (former GlaxoSmithKline), which is donating about 10 million doses of the product for the pilot.
• It was created in 1987 by GSK, and was subsequently developed with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• In clinical trials, the vaccine was found to prevent approximately 4 in 10 malaria cases, including 3 in 10 cases of life-threatening severe malaria.

What is the pilot programme?

• The WHO welcomed the pilot project in Malawi of administering the malaria vaccine to children below the age of 2 years.
• Malawi will be followed by Kenya and Ghana.

• In the selected areas in the three countries, the vaccine will be given in four doses.
• Three doses will be given between 5 and 9 months of age, and the fourth dose around the child’s second birthday.
• A total of 3,60,000 children across the three African countries will be covered every year with the vaccine.
• GSK will assess the results and also work with WHO and PATH to secure the vaccine’s sustained global health impact.
• Once the pilots have been completed, the WHO will review the results and come out with its recommendations for the use of the vaccine.

How significant is this?

• Malaria is certainly a major global public health challenge.
• According to the WHO, malaria remains one of the world’s leading killers, claiming the life of a child every 2 minutes.
• Most of these deaths are in Africa, where more than 2,50,000 children die from the disease every year.
• Children under the age of 5, and poorest children among them, are at greatest risk from its life-threatening complications.
• Worldwide, malaria kills 4,35,000 people a year, most of them children.
• Moreover, with global warming on the rise, there are predictions of vectors such as mosquitos seeing an explosive rise the world over.
• These include areas where they are traditionally not found.
• The malaria vaccine thus has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives, especially of the children.

What is the case with India?

• India ranks very high in the list of countries with a serious malaria burden.
• Odisha (40%), Chhattisgarh (20%), Jharkhand (20%), Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram (5-7%) bear the brunt of malaria in India.
• These states, along with the tribal areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, account for 90% of India’s malaria burden.
• In 2018, around 3, 99,000 cases of malaria and 85 deaths due to the disease were reported in the country.
• But there is a contention that India may be recording only just 8% of the actual number of malaria cases.
• Although it is a notifiable disease, it is only voluntary notification as there are no penalties for doctors or hospitals not doing so.
• 60% to 80% of patients in the urban areas are treated by private doctors or health establishments, most of whom do not notify cases.