Can be immune for 1 year, scientists find prevention of malaria

 The New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that experts have found prevention of malaria with artificial antibodies. 

The study suggests that a single dose of a new monoclonal antibody, discovered and developed at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), may be enough to protect people from malaria infection for nearly a year. 

Malaria is a disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Sufferers will experience fever, headache, seizures, and in serious cases can lead to coma or death.

 Monoclonal antibodies are copies of antibodies, which are proteins that fight foreign bacteria and viruses.

Monoclonal antibodies have been approved for emergency use in inflammatory diseases, cancer, and viral infections.

The NIH's early-stage study involved 40 healthy adults and tested whether a monoclonal antibody, called CIS43LS, could provide high levels of protection from malaria infection.

The study looked at the effects of exposure to mosquitoes that carry a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum, the protozoan that causes malaria.

 A total of 15 volunteers were exposed to mosquito bites, but none of the nine participants who received CIS43LS developed malaria, compared to five of the six participants who did not receive antibodies. 

This protection is also expected to last for more than six months, with one participant having protection for nine months.