GSK trials malaria vaccine in Kintampo

Kintampo (B/A), Oct. 7, GNA - The GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Biological, vaccine manufacturers in Belgium and the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PAHT), an international NGO, have selected Kintampo Health Centre in Brong-Ahafo to field trial and assess the immunological impact and safety of a malaria vaccine to help combat the disease among children.

Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) and the School of Medical Science (SMS) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), are also conducting the trial, which would last for two years, at Agogo in the Ashanti Region.

Dr. Seth Owusu-Agyei, a scientist and director of Kintampo Health Research Centre, disclosed these at the launch of the trial at Kintampo on Friday.

He explained that the two centres were recruiting 540 children, aged between 5 and 17 months to participate in the trial, which is aimed at validating the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. Dr. Owusu-Agyei said the vaccine had shown to be safe in studies conducted on adult volunteers in the United States, Europe, Kenya, Gambia and Mozambique.

The Director said results from the Mozambique study, in which 2,000 children participated, indicated that the vaccine was effective for at least 18 months in reducing clinical malaria by 35 per cent and severe malaria by 49 per cent.

"Every Ghanaian knows the heavy toll malaria takes on people and society, particularly, children," he said, adding, "more than a million people in sub-Saharan Africa die from malaria each year".

Dr. Owusu-Agyei disclosed that, in 2003, more than three million malaria cases were reported in the country and immunization was the most effective way to control infectious diseases.

"So an effective malaria vaccine would represent a huge step forward in combating this terrible disease", he added. He emphasised that, if the trial was successful, several years of work would be needed before the vaccine would be ready for the nation's children.

"If all goes well, the vaccine could be submitted to regulatory authorities as early as 2010. Thereafter, it would need to be recommended by policy makers, and finally, plans must be made and implemented for acquiring the vaccine and ensuring its widespread use", Dr. Owusu-Agyei explained.

Alhaj Dr. Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, Regional Director of Health Services, commended the Director and the staff of the research centre for the efforts being made to address health problems in the region and the country through the various research initiatives.

He disclosed that malaria accounted for 50 per cent of all Out Patients Department attendance in the region in 2005 and was the number one cause of deaths, accounting for 12 per cent of all deaths. The Regional Director expressed concern about the widespread location of refuse dumps, rubbish, bushes and water filled pits that allowed mosquitoes to breed.

Dr. Alhaj Ibrahim noted that vaccination had saved millions of lives in the areas of small pox and measles and urged the centre to continue with the research for the successful completion of the trial.