Creation of first malaria vaccine raises troubling questions about "intellectual racism". Interview by Kirsteen MacLeod.
Some of the problems caused by malaria, which places a huge roadblock in front of economic progress in the Third World, may be solved by a new vaccine created by Dr. Manuel Patarroyo, a Columbian physician and researcher. "Imagine how things would be if Canadians had malaria," he says. "Episodes last 10 days, then there are 10 days of recovering. This leaves only 10 days each month in which to do some productive work. Then imagine killing the population of Toronto each year, and you can see the huge toll in terms of the number of yearly deaths globally from malaria." His discovery also raises the issue of "intellectual racism" because of criticism of Patarroyo's methods by Western scientists. Patarroyo, meanwhile, turned down a $60-million offer for his vaccine, and instead donated the patent to the World Health Organization.
D000486:Allergy and Immunology / Q000266:history*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003105:Colombia; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007578:Jealousy; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000266:history*; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000266:history*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012106:Research
D017780:Malaria Vaccines; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C066269:SPf66 protein, Plasmodium