SYDNEY, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have developed a next-generation malaria vaccine that requires no refrigeration and shows strong potential to provide long-lasting protection and reduce transmission by mosquitoes.
The vaccine is predicted to be low-cost, and its cold-chain independence strongly enhances its deployability, said a statement of Australia's Griffith University released on Wednesday.
Malaria kills more than 500,000 people each year, mostly in developing countries where vaccine storage and distribution remain major challenges.
"Existing vaccines offer only partial and short-lived protection and are difficult to distribute across the globe as they require strict refrigeration," said Griffith University Professor Bernd Rehm, whose team led the vaccine development.
The vaccine remained stable and effective for at least one month at temperatures up to 37 degrees Celsius, removing the need for cold-chain logistics and improving access in rural and remote areas, said the study published in the journal Small.
"It attacks two critical stages at once -- before infection and during transmission by stopping the parasite from reaching and infecting the liver, and also by preventing parasites from developing inside mosquitoes and spreading to others," Rehm said.
The vaccine uses engineered bacterial particles, acting like a scaffold to display key malaria proteins, training the immune system to recognize and destroy the parasite, researchers said.
Preclinical results showed the vaccine reduced liver infection by up to 80 percent, completely protected about a quarter of recipients, and cut mosquito transmission by roughly two-thirds, with immunity lasting at least six months. ■
