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INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

“Kenya: Breakthrough on Malaria Vaccine Study” Africa News Service (www.allafrica.com) (02/20/02)

According to a new report in Science, a breakthrough has been made in the effort to find an effective malaria vaccine with the development of a drug called G 25.  A team of European and South African scientists found that G 25 used a portion of the malaria parasite to stimulate the immune system into producing antibodies and T-cells that will block it from entering and procreating in the blood cells.  The scientists are prepared to begin human vaccine testing within the next couple of years.  The Kenya Medical Research Institute is also testing a new malaria vaccine.  Dr. Davy Koech, the institute’s director, notes that the vaccine is based on years of research conducted in the Lake Victoria region.

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