According to CNN, on April 23, 2009, a new malaria vaccine that's about to begin human clinical trials is dependent on mosquitoes. Bioengineers have been growing millions of mosquitoes in a sterile environment, letting them feed on malaria-infected blood, irradiating the bugs, extracting the disease-causing parasites and storing them for use in vaccines.

When the vaccine is injected, the body recognizes the malaria parasite as a foreign material, it goes to the liver, where a lot of the immune response is generated, but does not develop into a disease because the mosquito was irradiated, said Dr. Kirsten Lyke, principal investigator in the clinical trial site at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She added that the vaccine is the only effective vaccine that anyone has ever really developed that works and does complete protection.

Clinical trials will begin in May, and will include 80 immunized individuals and 24 controls. About 3000 mosquitoes were used to produce the vaccines for the first clinical trials. If they are successful, researchers will initiate trials on adults in Africa, and then children.

The announcement of the Food and Drug Administration's approval for clinical trials comes just days before World Malaria Day (April 23rd).

To get more information, please visit:
www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/23/
malaria.vaccine/