Chapter 6 : Dreams about Vaccines

Abstract:

A malaria vaccine, discounted for decades during the “eradication era,” became the possible dream when in 1961 researchers found that IgG from immune Gambian adults had an antiparasitic effect when administered to children infected with P. falciparum. Despite all the experimental efforts with birds and monkeys, the fact remained that, after half a century, a protective malaria vaccine was not on the horizon. At a minimum, a vaccine for human use would require an immunogen that could be prepared in large amounts in a reproducible manner and would be free of microbial and host cell contaminants, pyrogens, toxins, and other potentially dangerous antigens. The desirable vaccine would have to remain stable over a reasonably long period; its potency would have to be measured in terms of efficacy in vivo and/or in vitro; and it would have to be efficacious in an appropriate animal model before being used in humans. As a researcher said, manipulation of what is essentially an autoimmune reaction would require special care.