Abstract
Globally, 3.1 billion people live in areas endemic for malaria (the tropics and subtropics). Annually, around 200 million fall ill, and around 500,000 persons die as a result of this infection. Mainly children are the victims. In order to control and eventually prevent any new infection, the development of effective vaccines is pivotal. In this review, background information about the history of vaccine development and malaria disease as well as possibilities for therapy and control is given. In the main part of the article, an update on the development of vaccines against Plasmodium falciparum is provided followed by an extensive discussion.Malaria is a parasitic infectious disease caused by the single cell organism Plasmodium. Five different Plasmodium species can induce disease in humans with P. falciparum being the origin for more than 99% of infections in Africa. The vector is the Anopheles mosquito. The life cycle of Plasmodium offers several approaches for vaccines to have an impact. Out of around 70 candidates, pre-erythrocytic vaccine candidates interfering with the liver phase of the parasite are the most developed. However, a vaccine with more than 75% efficacy, as required by the World Health Organization (WHO), is not yet in sight.Currently, for the first time, a moderately efficacious vaccine (RTS,S/AS01) is being applied in large-scale operations. But it is obvious that malaria can only be controlled in combination with concurring measures. For example, the use of impregnated mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying, elimination of vector breeding sites, rapid diagnosis, and therapy of the infection as well as a functioning health system are important elements, which can hardly be guaranteed in areas characterized by poverty.