WHO recommends malaria vaccine for children at risk

The World Health Organization has approved the use of the world's first vaccine to treat malaria. The WHO on Wednesday approved the RTS, S / AS01 Malaria Vaccine. Malaria kills more than four million people every year. Malaria is a deadly disease in African countries. Among the people killed here are mostly children.

The decision was made by the World Health Organization after being used on an experimental basis in an African country. The World Health Organization says the only approved vaccine against malaria should be given to children in Africa. Malaria, which kills millions of people every year, must be brought under control. Approved RTS-S Masquirix vaccine following WHO recommendation. The vaccine was developed by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

In a pilot project program implemented in collaboration with WHO, 2.3 million doses of Masquirix were given to newborns in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi after 2019. The highest number of deaths due to malaria is among children below 5 years of age. The vaccine was clinically tested in seven African countries for nearly 10 years before the pilot project began. The pilot project reviews any product for its global selection. The vaccine was developed by African scientists in Africa, said WHO Director Tedros Adhnom Ghebreyes. We are proud of all of them. The use of this vaccine will save thousands of lives every year.

The WHO statement said the vaccine should be used on children with moderate to high malaria infections in the African continent. There are currently several vaccines available for the malaria virus and bacteria. But the WHO has for the first time approved a vaccine for widespread use against malaria. This vaccine works against deadly Plasmodium falciparum, such as malaria. Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, muscle aches, chills, and sweating.