Current malaria vaccine development efforts focus primarily on moderating infection in the human host rather than targeting the mosquito vectors responsible for the spread of malaria. A set of monoclonal antibodies has been developed which inhibit the development of human malaria parasites in different species of mosquitoes by blocking specific mosquito antigens. It may be possible to develop a malaria transmission blocking vaccine by immunizing humans with DNA or protein forms of the identified mosquito antigens. The human antibodies elicited against such antigens, when ingested by the mosquito along with infectious parasites, may prevent the development of parasites in the mosquito and thus halt malaria transmission.   

Inventors: Altaf Lal and Pamela Patterson

CDC Reference Number: I-002-00/0

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