The Absence of a Malaria Vaccine

​Malaria, a disease caused by the bite of a parasite-infected mosquito, affects more than 5 million people worldwide and is responsible for 1-2 million deaths/year. The infected bite causes plasmodium parasites to develop within the host and toxic material to collect in the infected red blood cell. The material ends up in the bloodstream, which produces symptoms of the disease. Common symptoms of malaria include fever, chills, sweats, headaches, nausea, and vomiting. These are experienced during a classic malaria attack, in which the infected person will go through a “cold stage, hot stage, and sweating stage”(CDC). However, depending on the severity of the case, some people with malaria may experience little to mild symptoms as well. Left untreated, malaria can be fatal to humans. But, that can usually be prevented with drugs and medication treatment early on.
Local (US) malaria outbreaks have been small, but there is a risk of the disease to re-emerge from the Southern region of the US. This presents a problem; there is no vaccine for malaria, as it is very difficult to create. Additionally, malaria can be spread through airplane travel transporting mosquitoes, through pregnancy, and blood transfusion (albeit somewhat rarely). 

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Author

Supria Shroff
Outbreak!2020

In Massachusetts, the earliest record of malaria, (along with other mosquito-responsible diseases) dated back to the Pilgrims. Reappearing from 1806-1836, malaria was prominent in mostly the western part of MA and continued to stay there, as well as penetrate the North. “Dr. J. F. Adams...points out that the communities where malaria occurred are ‘found to be, with scarcely an exception, on the borders of rivers, or adjacent to swamps, ponds or artificial reservoirs.’”(NMCA). He summarized that malaria tends to be present near water. By 1914, the disease became better understood, and during 1931, only 40 cases were reported.
Although Malaria can be easily treated early on with drugs such as Chloroquine and Quinine, it is still important to note that a vaccine does not exist. The CDC recognizes the possibility of the disease to reemerge in the South, and with possible nonexistent symptoms, it may be difficult to identify those who need treatment (CDC). And without early treatment, the risk of malaria fatalities goes up. The obvious solution is having a vaccine to be administered. Another solution is just avoiding getting bit by a possible infected mosquito, whether it be not traveling to places with the parasite, wearing bug repellent, and using malaria prevention tablets. To prevent spread, a solution is to quarantine after visiting a place where malaria is prevalent. Since malaria can be spread through blood banks and transfusions as well, a solution would be to have more security measures for testing and making sure the donor does not have malaria. Lastly, another solution could be engineering new drugs that the parasites cannot be resistant to, and ones that contain material to prevent relapse as well.
  
Sources
https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/malaria-a-to zhttps://www.cdc.gov/malaria/resources/pdf/Malaria_Treatment_Guidelines.pdf
 
https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/resources/pdf/Malaria_Treatment_Table.pdf
 
https://www.who.int/malaria/areas/treatment/en/
 
https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/diagnosis_treatment/treatment.html
 
http://www.nmca.org/Nmca93-4.htm#:~:text=%22Malaria%20reappeared%20once%20again%20in,an%20invasion%20of%20western%20Massachusetts.