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By Aarav Shah
The Lawrenceville School, NJ
Deadly bites carrying malaria from the most pesky creatures, mosquitoes, take the lives of many each year in tropical territories. Even though this disease cannot be transferred amongst a group of people without the presence of a greedy parasite, the treatments available for serious cases are few in number. Death is a possibility if a victim of the plasmodium falciparum species fails to be properly helped, and alternative symptoms can range from fevers and headaches to seizures and shortness of breath.
However, a breakthrough in feasible vaccination solutions for malaria has emerged, solving “...a puzzle that has baffled scientists for many years” (Sai Sundar Rajan Raghavan).
Child getting malaria vaccine
Traditionally, mosquitoes were able to wreak havoc on the human immune system by modelling an elusive framework. From the moment a mosquito punctures the skin of a human body, the plasmodium falciparum parasites, which are released from the saliva of the mosquito, go into the liver. Later, they are released into the bloodstream and enter the red blood cells, only for the blood cells to eventually bind its PfEMP1 protein to an EPCR (a receptor on the blood vessel). It is at this point when the spleen, a critical scanner and component of the immune system, is not able to recognize and fight off the parasite (specifically, the plasmodium falciparum).6 The parasite is able to grow and develop, initiating destruction to the human body’s functions.
After scientists from Uganda, Tanzania, the United States of America, and Denmark worked together to discover the relation between broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) and the plasmodium falciparum parasite, the team came to a hard-earned consensus. They determined that the recipient’s antibodies function by preventing the PfEMP1 protein on the red blood cell from binding to the EPCR receptor. With this in place, the spleen is able to detect the parasite and work on fighting off the potential threat.
This type of discovery is not only pertinent to malaria, for in the years past, similar findings have been made with respect to HIV and Influenza.
Regarding the former, it has been effectively studied in 2021 that bnAbs can help hinder the acquisition of HIV, an illness that affects infants and breastfeeding children. Even though the conditions were narrow for this study, it showcases the potential for IAVI’s three-to-six month efficacy rate vaccination – IAVI is a sponsor of clinical trials.
Lastly, the influenza virus, a respiratory illness, has the potential to cause a mild cough, and in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea. However, similar to the past two ailments, there are new unearthings with regards to antibodies and its targeting of the NA (neuraminidase) protein – for the influenza virus. The bottom of this protein has a region that contains epitopes, possible binding locations for varying antibodies, regardless of the mutations.
New findings are paving the way for potential vaccination treatments, providing cures to illnesses that negatively impact the lives of so many each year.
----Works Cited
National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). New antibodies target dark side of influenza virus protein. Retrieved February 9, 2025,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Flu: About. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from
International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. (n.d.). HIV antibodies. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from https://www.iavi.org/our-
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). HIV: About. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Malaria fact sheet. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-
Scripps Research Institute. (2024). New discovery uncovers the Achilles’ heel of the malaria parasite. Scripps Magazine.
Retrieved February 9, 2025, from https://magazine.scripps.edu/noteworthy/2024/online-exclusive/new-discovery-uncovers-the-achilles-heel-of-the-malaria-parasite/
Ragon Institute. (n.d.). Groundbreaking discovery uncovers Achilles' heel of malaria parasite. Retrieved February 9, 2025,
YouTube. (n.d.). The dark side of influenza virus proteins [Video]. Retrieved February 9, 2025, from
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