WHO approves first malaria vaccine........

World gets malaria vaccine: WHO approves first malaria vaccine, will start with African countries; Every year more than 3 lakh cases are coming in India. World Health Organization (WHO) has approved the first malaria vaccine RTS, S/AS01 in the world. It will start from African countries most affected by malaria. After this, the focus of WHO will be on funding arrangements to make malaria vaccine worldwide, so that this vaccine can reach every needy country. 

[Mosquito that causes Malaria]

After this, the governments of the respective countries will decide whether they include the vaccine in the measures to control malaria. The WHO has said that this vaccine has brought great hope for the countries, that are most affected by malaria.

More than 3 lakh cases of malaria in India every year: Children under the age of 5 are at the highest risk of malaria. Every two minutes a child dies of malaria. In 2019, there were 4.09 lakh deaths approx. due to malaria worldwide, of which about 67% were children, whose age was less than 5 years. In the year, 2015, India had the highest 384 deaths due to malaria. Since then the death toll has steadily decreased and there were more than 3 lakh 38 thousand cases of malaria in India in 2019 but about 50 people only died.  

Vaccine trials completed in African countries: The malaria vaccine RTS, S/AS01 was used in 2019 as a pilot program in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi. Under this, 23 lakh children were given the vaccine, based on its results, the WHO has now approved the vaccine. This vaccine was first made in 1987 by the GSK company. 

Severe cases will be 30% less: According to the results of the pilot project, the malaria vaccine is safe and can prevent 30% of severe cases. Of the children given this vaccine, two-thirds were those who did not have mosquito nets. It has also been revealed that the malaria vaccine does not have any negative effect on other vaccines or other measures to prevent malaria. The WHO recommends giving children in sub-Saharan African countries 4 doses of malaria vaccine by the age of two. This vaccine neutralizes Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium falciparum is one of the five parasites that cause malaria and is the most dangerous. 

According to the WHO, 4 out of every 10 malaria cases can be prevented by the vaccine, and 3 out of 10 people can be saved in severe cases. According to the WHO, malaria causes 4.10 lakh deaths worldwide every year, most of them children from African countries. Half of all malaria deaths worldwide occur in six sub-Saharan African countries. A quarter of these cases are from Nigeria. These are the major symptoms of malaria • Chills       • high fever  • Headache   • Sore Throat  • sweat  • Tiredness  • Restlessness • Vomiting • Anemia• Muscle pain   • Bloody diarrhea etc.