“Malaria Vaccine Trials in Pregnant Women: An Imperative Without Precedent”

Pregnant woman being given a routine malaria test from nurse in Tanzania
Lilian Paulo, 29, is registered and given a routine malaria test from nurse Mwandawa Said at the Mkolani RCH. Lilian came for the first visit during her pregnancy and received the bed net. She sells lingerie going around house to house. She has 1 son, Eric, 6 years old, and she lost a child due to malaria. So she is very concerned about not getting malaria and sleeping under a bed net is paramount. / Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Plasmodium falciparum malaria leads to substantial maternal, perinatal, and infant mortality. Although highly susceptible, no trials of malaria vaccines have ever been conducted in pregnant women. This publication, co-authored by Maggie Little, resulted from the discussions held at an expert meeting convened in December 2016 at NIAID, NIH, in Rockville, Maryland to deliberate on the rationale and design of malaria vaccine trials in pregnant women. The discussions highlighted the progress made over recent years in the field of maternal immunization for other infectious diseases, and the evolving regulatory and ethical environment. All of that supports a new emphasis on testing malaria vaccines that offer direct benefits to pregnant women.

Read the publication.