Predicting the public health impact of a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine

Nat Commun. 2021 Mar 8;12(1):1494. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21775-3.

Abstract

Transmission-blocking vaccines that interrupt malaria transmission from humans to mosquitoes are being tested in early clinical trials. The activity of such a vaccine is commonly evaluated using membrane-feeding assays. Understanding the field efficacy of such a vaccine requires knowledge of how heavily infected wild, naturally blood-fed mosquitoes are, as this indicates how difficult it will be to block transmission. Here we use data on naturally infected mosquitoes collected in Burkina Faso to translate the laboratory-estimated activity into an estimated activity in the field. A transmission dynamics model is then utilised to predict a transmission-blocking vaccine's public health impact alongside existing interventions. The model suggests that school-aged children are an attractive population to target for vaccination. Benefits of vaccination are distributed across the population, averting the greatest number of cases in younger children. Utilising a transmission-blocking vaccine alongside existing interventions could have a substantial impact against malaria.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Burkina Faso / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Malaria / epidemiology
  • Malaria / prevention & control*
  • Malaria / transmission*
  • Malaria Vaccines / immunology*
  • Malaria, Falciparum / prevention & control
  • Middle Aged
  • Prevalence
  • Public Health*
  • Vaccination
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Malaria Vaccines