Malaria is a major challenge in more than 100 countries. In 2015, nearly half the countries in the world had ongoing malaria transmission, according to Dr. Eileen Villasante, head of the Malaria Department at the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC). But NMRC researchers may have found a new way to meet that challenge. They identified a novel highly protective malaria antigen, Plasmodium yoelii E140.
E140 is found in multiple stages of the life cycle of the malaria parasite, including sporozoites, liver stages, and blood stages, Villasante said. The researchers found that E140 induced up to 100% sterile protection, persisting for at least 3 months. They are now at work on a vaccine with the antigen.
