{"id":8175,"date":"2013-08-11T21:39:48","date_gmt":"2013-08-11T21:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/nma-others-laud-new-malaria-vaccine\/"},"modified":"2013-08-11T21:39:48","modified_gmt":"2013-08-11T21:39:48","slug":"nma-others-laud-new-malaria-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/nma-others-laud-new-malaria-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"NMA, others laud new malaria vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\u2022 WHO releases guidelines on disease\u2019s prevention in children<\/strong><\/p>\n

NIGERIAN scientists led by the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) have lauded the discovery of a malaria vaccine which provides 100 per cent protection against the disease.<\/p>\n

    According to a research published at the weekend in the journal Science, the malaria vaccine has become the first to provide 100 per cent protection against the disease, confounding critics and far surpassing any other experimental malaria vaccine tested. <\/p>\n

   The researchers said the vaccine, which is being developed in the United States (U.S.), protected 12 out of 15 patients from the disease, when given in high doses; and will now be tested further in clinical trials in Africa.<\/p>\n

    Also, the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday published a guide on the provision of effective malaria treatment at intervals during this rainy season in the Sahel sub-region with highly seasonal malaria transmission, such as Nigeria.<\/p>\n

    According to a statement from the WHO, across the Sahel sub-region, most childhood malaria mortality and morbidity occur during the rainy season, which is generally short. Giving effective malaria treatment at intervals during this period has been shown to prevent illness and death from malaria in children. <\/p>\n

   National Coordinator, National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe, told The Guardian Sunday: \u201cThe news about the possibility of a new vaccine to prevent malaria is cheery to everyone involved in the fight against malaria at whatever level.<\/p>\n

   \u201cThis is more so to us at NMCP because on a daily basis we are confronted with the question from the affected public: \u2018Is there no medicine or vaccine to prevent malaria?\u2019 or more painfully \u2018Can\u2019t you people find a medicine that can prevent someone from getting malaria?\u2019 It is painful because we understand the people\u2019s frustration and yet there is nothing we can do in that direction. <\/p>\n

  \u201cTo date the answer to the above questions still remain \u2018No\u2019 and we at NMCP are looking forward to a day when we can answer \u2018yes!\u2019 Therefore, we are excited that there is a gleam of light at the end of the tunnel for a malaria vaccine, even though in this particular case it could take up to ten years to materialise.\u201d<\/p>\n

  In the same vein, NMA\u2019s President , Dr. Osahon Enabulele, said the progress made towards the development of effective malaria vaccine is a welcome development especially to the country because of the high malaria burden. Enabulele, however, urged caution: \u201cWe must also be careful because this is just a research that is inconclusive and is yet to be commercialised.\u201d <\/p>\n

 So we must continue to do what we should do to keep malaria at bay like keeping the environment clean without stagnant water, sleeping under insecticide treated nets, using ACTs, among others.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Ezeigwe, however, said there are about 20 other vaccine projects for malaria prevention at various stages of clinical trials globally.      She said the leading vaccine candidate in the group, RTS, S is currently undergoing the phase III trial and is likely to come into use by 2015 if all goes as well as expected. \u201cIt is being develoed by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals and PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) with funding support from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,\u201d the NMCP boss said.<\/p>\n

  He said it was very important to also note that when a vaccine does become available it would only complement the tools already been deployed to fight malaria, and not replace them. \u201cThis is because so far results of the on-going trials have not indicated full protection against malaria,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

 Ezeigwe, however, said people should continue to use Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs); pregnant women must continue to demand for Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy (IPTp) at antenatal visits; and every one with suspected malaria must get tested and treated with Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) if found positive for malaria.<\/p>\n

  The WHO in a statement yesterday said: \u201cMalaria continues to be a major health problem in many parts of the world. Across the Sahel sub-region of Africa, most childhood malaria mortality and morbidity occur during the rainy season, which is generally short. The provision of effective malaria treatment at intervals during this period has been shown to prevent illness and death from malaria among children.<\/p>\n

   \u201c\u2026 This guide provides the necessary technical and operational information and tools for country-level policy-makers and programme managers to decide on how to adopt and implement SMC.\u201d<\/p>\n

   Until now, no effective malaria vaccine is available. However, the WHO has set a target to develop a malaria vaccine with 80 per cent efficacy by 2025.<\/p>\n

   However, WHO\u2019s Director in charge of Global Malaria Programme, Dr. Robert Newman, told The Guardian at the just concluded African Union Abuja + 12 Special Summit on HIV\/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria that malaria vaccine trials are on-going on 11 sites across seven countries in Africa indicated remarkable progress, with signals that the world might have its first successful malaria vaccine by the year 2015.<\/p>\n

   Previous reports suggested that a malaria vaccine, RTS, S that could help protect young children and infants in malaria-endemic areas against infection and clinical disease caused by plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly species of the malaria parasite, may become available globally by the end of 2014.<\/p>\n

   But funding and innovation are critical to sustain progress in malaria fight, according to  African leaders.<\/p>\n

    Significant progress has been made in scaling up malaria control efforts and the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), an alliance of 43 African Heads of State and the African Union working to end malaria-related deaths on the continent said Africa is better prepared to defeat malaria now than at any other time in history.<\/p>\n

The statement reads: \u201cSeasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) is a complete treatment course of amodiaquine plus sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (AQ+SP) given at monthly intervals to children aged three to 59 months, beginning at the start of the transmission season (in areas where the therapeutic efficacy of AQ+SP remains high). It is recommended in areas of the Sahel sub-region with highly seasonal malaria transmission.\u201d Key interventions currently recommended by WHO for the control of malaria are the use of insecticide treated nets (ITNs) and\/or indoor residual spraying (IRS) for vector control, and prompt access to diagnostic testing of suspected malaria and treatment of confirmed cases. Additional interventions which are recommended in areas of high transmission for specific high risk groups include Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) and Intermittent Preventive Treatment in infancy (IPTi).<\/p>\n

————————————————————————————————————————-
Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: Guardian Newspaper<\/p>\n

DisNaija.Com<\/b> publishes regular posts on Nigeria News,<\/a> Nigerian Newspapers,<\/a> Online Nigeria Gist.<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Nigerian Newspapers<\/a>
\n
\nFollow @Dis_Naija<\/a>
\n