According to the American Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the results of the experiments indicate that the protection is valid for at least nine months.
For the first time, scientists used monoclonal antibodies to protect several dozen volunteers who agreed to participate in clinical trials from malaria infection. This was announced on Thursday by the American National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) press service.
“The results of these experiments indicate that a single injection of monoclonal antibodies protects patients from malaria for at least nine months. Subsequent observations, we hope, will confirm and supplement the results of these preliminary tests,” said NIAID director Anthony Fauci, whose words are quoted by the press service of the institute.
Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases of humans. Its pathogens are single-celled parasites from the genus Plasmodium. According to current WHO estimates, the number of carriers of all types of malaria worldwide is about 220 million people. Every year, about 400 thousand patients die from this disease. A significant part of the cases lives in Africa and the developing countries of South Asia.
An international team of researchers led by the head of the laboratory at NIAID, Rober Seder, has been working for several years to create new methods to contain the malaria epidemic. In particular, scientists are trying to understand whether it is possible to create synthetic antibodies that can neutralize plasmodium when it enters the human body.
