title: Efficacy of preerythrocytic and blood-stage malaria vaccines can be assessed in small sporozoite challenge trials in human volunteers.
abstract: The development of a vaccine against malaria has public health priority. In a controlled setting, preliminary data on the efficacy of Plasmodium falciparum vaccine candidates can be obtained by exposing immunized human volunteers to the bites of laboratory-reared P. falciparum-infected mosquitoes. Using empirical data, we show that these trials, with small numbers of volunteers, are sufficiently powered to detect protective biological effects induced by preerythrocytic and/or blood-stage candidate vaccines if parasitemia is measured daily by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Sporozoite challenge trials are thus a powerful tool for early selection of candidates that warrant efficacy of trials in the field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands. M.Roestenberg@lumc.nl
authors.forename: Meta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roestenberg
authors.forename: Sake J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: de Vlas
authors.forename: An-Emmie
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Nieman
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Sauerwein
authors.forename: Cornelus C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hermsen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009033:Culicidae / Q000469:parasitology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000469:parasitology; D008288:Malaria / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017780:Malaria Vaccines / Q000592:standards*; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000469:parasitology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*; D034101:Sporozoites / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017780:Malaria Vaccines