AFRICA — The World Health Organization has implemented a large-scale malaria vaccine pilot program for 360,000 children across Africa.<br /><br />The vaccine, called RTS,S, is being tested in Malawi, Kenya and Ghana, and is being administered to children upto the age of 2.<br /><br />However, experts have raised concerns about the vaccine's efficacy, durability and safety. Four doses of the vaccine offer only 30 percent protection from severe malaria, for roughly three years.<br /><br />Children who received vaccinations were found to have a 10 times higher risk of meningitis than those given a control vaccine.<br /><br />A fact sheet by PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, an international non-profit organization, says the vaccine is designed to trigger the immune system when malaria parasites enter the bloodstream via mosquito bites.<br /><br />The vaccine blocks the parasite from infecting a person's liver, where it could potentially multiply and reenter the bloodstream to infect red blood cells. This is when symptoms of malaria usually starts to appear.<br /><br />Initial symptoms of malaria include fever, headache and chills. In more serious cases, children may develop severe anaemia or respiratory distress.<br /><br />Children under the age of 5 are the most vulnerable to the disease, according to the World Health Organization.
