WHO approves first malaria vaccine for children

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World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday approved the widespread use of “RTS,S” malaria vaccine to prevent malaria among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high levels of malaria transmission.

The new vaccine, made by GlaxoSmithKline, is approved for use in children as young as five months old and requires up to four doses. It rouses a child’s immune system to thwart Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of five malaria pathogens and the most prevalent in Africa.

Malaria is among the oldest known and deadliest infectious diseases. It kills about half a million people each year, nearly all of them in sub-Saharan Africa — among them 260,000…



Source: Nigerian Tribune