Malaria Immunity Persists More Than 2 Years after Sporozoite Inoculation

Volunteers previously immunized via sporozoite inoculation showed parasite-specific immunity on rechallenge.

Immunity to malaria remains poorly understood, but a recent follow-on study from the Netherlands provides some insight. In the first part of that study, investigators demonstrated that exposure to the bites of Plasmodium falciparum–infected mosquitoes while under chloroquine cover resulted in immunity against malaria for at least 1 month (JW Infect Dis Jul 29 2009). Now, they report that the protective effect may last for years.

Eleven healthy volunteers were each exposed to the bites of five P. falciparum–infected mosquitoes. Six of the volunteers had been effectively immunized against the same strain of P. falciparum 28 months earlier, in the first part of the study, and five of the volunteers were malaria naive.

Only two of the six immuniz…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine