Every year, the number of deaths due to malaria is 600,000 people all over the world. Most of them are children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the disease is not limited to poor rural areas. It’s a global threat. Traveling with people across borders.

For decades, it felt like the fight against malaria was continuing on the fly. Mosquito nets and drugs save livesHowever, the parasites that cause malaria are called malaria parasitehold Evolving new ways to survive. These parasites are transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.

But something is changing. as malaria researcher For my doctoral degree, I am researching how malaria parasites acquire resistance to drugs. I know what malaria feels like. I have suffered from it and have lost family members to it. That experience drove me into this field.

When I started this job in 2023, there were few good options for protecting my youngest child. Groups most likely to die from malaria. Now, for the first time in my career, I’m seeing real progress happening simultaneously. new vaccine, powerful antibodies and Gene monitoring tools Anticipate resistance before it spreads.

Two new vaccines for children

In 2023, the World Health Organization approved two malaria vaccines for children. Also known as RTS, S/AS01, Mosquirixand something else called R21/Matrix-M. These vaccines, which are given in four doses starting at about five months of age, are the first vaccines ever shown to prevent severe malaria.

These vaccines do not provide complete protection. They reduce the incidence of clinical malaria cases in vaccinated children by: Approximately 75% in the first year After receiving the first dose, the protection they provide wears off over time. However, when combined with mosquito nets and preventive medicines, Already prevented thousands of deaths. As of the second half of 2025, malaria infection has spread to approximately 20 countries, mainly in Africa, where the damage caused by malaria is the greatest. introduced these vaccines Participate in childhood immunization programs.

This is very important for children under 5 years of age. immune system not fully developed Natural resistance to malaria is also not built up. A single infection can be fatal within hours.

Vaccines are effective because they contain molecules that mimic key proteins on the surface of the parasite. Perisporozoite proteins. This molecule trains the immune system to recognize the parasite during infection after a mosquito bite, before it hides inside human cells.

Discover hidden weaknesses of parasites

In January 2025, researchers discovered something surprising. How do malaria parasites invade cells?.

To invade liver cells, the parasite must release a dense surface protein that acts as a protective shield. This easily exposes specific hidden spots on the protein. called an epitopesomething that was not visible before. This momentary unmasking may give the immune system a chance to recognize the parasite and thwart its invasion.

This vulnerability is exposed only momentarily and is missed by most immune responses. However, scientists have discovered an antibody called. MAD21-101 Accurate enough to catch it.

Antibodies are originally tiny security tag Produced by the immune system to latch on to invaders. While standard antibodies fail to latch due to the parasite’s protein shield, MAD21-101 waits for the moment the mask is lifted and locks directly onto the exposed spot.

In clinical tests, this action prevented parasites from entering liver cells and completely stopped the infection. Scientists envision turning this antibody into a treatment to prevent infection in high-risk infants, and potentially using it in conjunction with existing vaccines to boost protection against malaria.

Protection and treatment of the youngest patients

Infants have historically faced a double gap because of their underdeveloped immune systems. That’s because there are limited ways to prevent malaria, and when they inevitably get sick, there are few safe treatments prescribed for their tiny bodies.

In 2022, WHO began recommending: Malaria prevention strategy called Chemoprevention of perennial malaria For babies from 2 months old. Infants are given a full dose of standard antimalarial drugs, including: Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamineduring routine vaccination checks. This treatment eliminates the parasite and provides temporary prevention, regardless of whether the child has a fever or other symptoms.

Recently, new treatments have appeared. coretem babyApproved by Swiss regulators in 2025, the drug is the first malaria treatment specifically designed for infants weighing just 4.4 pounds. Unlike older drugs, this formula safely takes into account the baby’s immature metabolism. Contains one ingredient, Artemetheris fast-acting and reduces the number of parasites instantly. and the second ingredient, lumefantrineIt stays in the blood longer to mop up survivors.

Tracking the evolution of parasites around the world

The malaria parasite has an uncanny ability to rewrite its genetic code under pressure, allowing it to adapt and withstand the very drugs designed to destroy it. This adaptability is now threatening medicine. artemisininis the backbone of malaria treatment worldwide. It’s starting to fail in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.. But researchers like me are getting a clearer picture of how tolerance develops and how it is interrupted.

One of the parasite’s tricks is to make extra copies of its genes to withstand antimalarial drug treatment. My research uses highly accurate techniques that count the number of genes and estimate a type of resistance score. This means that parasites with more copies are much better able to withstand treatment than parasites with only one.

Used by scientists around the world molecular scan tool This is to look for specific mutations (changes in a single letter in the parasite’s DNA) that make the parasite more resistant to drugs. For example, researchers in my lab are working to determine the genetic code of parasites. Because it’s in the process of changingTo catch dangerous mutations while they are rare. That would give researchers time to introduce alternative treatments before children start dying from drug-resistant infections.

These tracking tools allow epidemiologists to create early warning systems that can identify where drug resistance is emerging and predict where it may spread as a pathogen next. Hitchhiking across continents on a traveler’s bloodstream. Based on these warnings, health authorities can switch treatment strategies before the drug becomes completely ineffective. Additionally, by knowing exactly which genes the parasite modifies, researchers may be able to block those modifications and prevent the emergence of resistance.

Malaria research is entering a new era, and the parasite adapts, but scientists like me can adapt faster. There is still no guarantee that I will have a malaria-free childhood, but for the first time in my career, it feels like a realistic goal rather than a distant dream.