A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR MALARIA CONTROL

A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR MALARIA CONTROL

Here’s a breakthrough that deserves our urgent attention. Scientists at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Australia may have just given us a new way to fight malaria—not by killing mosquitoes, but by preventing the malaria parasite from reproducing inside them.

To me, this feels like a turning point. A turning point not just for global malaria control, but potentially for the Philippines as well. And I say this with cautious optimism: Could this be the innovation that ends malaria in our country once and for all?

Let’s first understand what the WEHI scientists did. Instead of developing a conventional vaccine aimed at humans, they went straight to the root—Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria. They studied how it reproduces inside mosquitoes by zooming in on two key proteins: Pfs230 and Pfs48/45. These proteins form a complex that allows the parasite to fertilize and reproduce.

Using advanced cryo-electron microscopy, the researchers visualized this fertilization complex in astonishing detail—not a simulation, not a lab replica, but the real structure as it appears in nature. What they found was a new vulnerable region in this complex, a weak spot that could be targeted by a vaccine.

And so they created one—a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine, like the ones used against COVID-19. This vaccine triggers antibodies that block the interaction of those proteins, preventing the parasite from fertilizing and, ultimately, from spreading. Preclinical studies recorded a jaw-dropping 99.7% reduction in transmission.

Let’s not underestimate what this means. Malaria infects nearly 300 million people every year and kills over 600,000, most of them in Africa, but we in the Philippines are not exempt. Cases have been reported in rural areas, especially in Mindanao and Palawan.

Now, here’s my question: What is the Department of Health (DOH) doing about this?

We cannot afford to sit and wait for this vaccine to become mainstream or available only to countries that can afford it. The DOH should get hold of this technology as soon as possible. Not later. Not next year. Now.

I strongly suggest that the DOH coordinate with the Philippine Embassy in Canberra. to reach out directly to WEHI. This is the kind of science diplomacy we need—where health attaches or consuls actively pursue lifesaving technologies on behalf of our people.

And while the vaccine is still in preclinical stages and has to undergo human trials and approvals, we shouldn’t be passive. We should already start conversations about future trials in the Philippines. If India is already testing multi-stage malaria vaccines, why can’t we participate in trials of this transmission-blocking vaccine too?

Another idea: Why not tap the DILG and our local government units (LGUs) to bring this effort down to the barangay level? Malaria doesn’t spread in Makati boardrooms or in air-conditioned offices in Quezon City—it spreads in the fields, in mountain villages, in our most underserved communities. We need this technology to reach them first.

Imagine the impact if our LGUs become early adopters of this solution. They could work with the DOH to map malaria-prone areas, prepare community-level awareness, and even support logistics once the vaccine becomes available.

Sure, the vaccine may still be a few years away from being commercially produced, but early action could secure our place in line. We’ve already seen how countries that acted early during COVID got faster access to vaccines. Let’s not repeat the mistake of being last in line.

Let me also commend the researchers at WEHI for publishing their findings in the journal Science. Transparency in science is vital. It allows other countries—like us—to learn from and possibly collaborate on their work.

And while we’re on the subject, credit must also go to Novartis for recently developing the first malaria treatment specifically for babies under 10 pounds. That treatment is about to be rolled out in several African nations on a not-for-profit basis. Again, I ask: Why not here, too?

We cannot let malaria continue to be a silent killer in remote barangays. This new technology gives us hope—but only if we act.

So I repeat: DOH, please get hold of this vaccine now.
DILG and LGUs, prepare the ground.
Philippine Embassy in Washington, make the call.

Because maybe—just maybe—this is the beginning of the end for malaria in the Philippines.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres
iseneres@yahoo.com, 09088877282, senseneres.blogspot.com

10-02-2025