RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine ( Mosquirix®): a profile of its use

Abstract

First results from large pilot implementation in Africa show that RTS,S/AS01 has a favourable safety profile, increases equity in access to malaria prevention, is highly cost effective, can be delivered through routine national immunization programmes and substantially reduces severe malaria burden. Malaria is a preventable and treatable, but deadly, disease caused by infection of red blood cells by Plasmodium parasites, transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes [1-3]. How does RTS,S/AS01 work? RTS,S/AS01 is a monovalent pre-erythrocytic recombinant protein vaccine that comprises P. falciparum circumsporozoite protein (CSP) regions known to induce humoral (R region) and cellular (T region) immune responses, covalently linked to the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (S) [3, 6, 7]. [...]data for only children are discussed further in this article.