Expatriates in malaria hotspots will be interested to read that researchers are to expand a clinical trial of a new malaria vaccine after promising results in a preliminary study in Burkina Faso.
The trial was designed to test safety, but researchers found that vaccinated children had high levels of protection. Described as a "most encouraging" result, a larger study involving 800 children is now to take place in Mali.
Described as a "most encouraging" result, a larger study involving 800 children is now to take place in Mali. The scientists involved say they are hopeful that the vaccine will ultimately be very cheap to produce.
Around a hundred different malaria vaccine candidates have been developed to date but the MSP3 vaccine tested in Burkina Faso is only the second one to show a substantial level of protection against the illness.
The randomised, double blind study involved 45 children. It set out to test the safety of the vaccine but this follow up study found that children who received it had an incidence of the disease three to four times lower than children who did not.
Initially the children were split into three groups, with two of them receiving the experimental malaria vaccine developed by Dr Pierre Druilhe at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.
"Those two groups had very similar types of immune response, elicited by the vaccine, and the protection is almost identical, so it reinforces the confidence despite the fact that we are still dealing with a small group," he said.
The vaccine is based on the fact that some adults in Africa acquire immunity because they are constantly exposed to the disease. Dr Druilhe and his team discovered a key protein, MSP3, which provokes the body into producing antibodies that kill the parasite. He said the protein is unique as it does not change much between different strains of the plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. This is believed to be a critical factor in developing an efficient vaccine.
He added: "We performed a large number of epidemiological studies that confirm that there was an association between that vaccine candidate and acquired protection, so when you immunise with this molecule you indeed induce protection."
Another scientist involved with the Burkina Faso study was Dr Louis Miller, the former head of the Malaria Vaccine Branch of the US National Institutes of Health. He said: "I was always in favour of this approach as it offered a chance in a field with few successes. I found the results of this preliminary study in Burkina Faso to be most encouraging."
When you are working or living abroad, or have plans of relocating into another country, it is very important that you protect you and your family’s health and their wellness.
Expatriates make sure you are covered for International Medical Insurance, April Medibroker assists & advises clients living or working abroad to both choose & place the right international Health and Medical insurance products, to suit their needs & budget.
April Medibroker is here to help you - from the initial advice on what expatriate health insurance policy to buy, through to any assistance that you may need in the future. Our staff are only a phone call or email away. Whether you need changes to cover or payment, need help with a claim or have questions about your international medical insurance policy we will gladly help.
Thursday 29 September 2011
Thursday 22 September 2011
New medical tests for UAE expats
Thousands of expat workers are to be subjected to medical tests in their home countries before they are allowed to enter the UAE, it has been announced.
The new rules will apply to foreign workers from 10 countries, the UAE’s ministry of health said at a recent press conference. The ministry of Health in the U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates) is preparing to implement the new regulations in an effort to cut down the amount of communicable diseases brought into the country.
The U.A.E. is particularly vulnerable to this problem as almost 90% of it's residents are Expats, meaning the potential for diseases to be brought into the country is considerable.
Designed to stop newcomers from bringing dangerous diseases into the UAE, the scheme is expected to be rolled out from October 1, with Indonesia and Sri Lanka the first countries affected. Eight more countries – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia – will be added later.
Expats will be screened mainly for contagious diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and HIV/Aids, at approved medical centres, with those who test positive refused entry. They will also be subjected to confirmatory re-tests once they are in the country.
Dr Sneh Khemka, medical director at Bupa International, said the changes seemed “sensible“. “The UAE has long been very stringent about disease control, as they have many workers coming in from other countries. These workers carry two risks: firstly, transmission, and secondly, a burden on the health system," he said.
He raised doubts however about the effectiveness of the system, as identifying latent cases of diseases such as TB "could be diagnostically challenging". He also said there was a risk that test results from the countries in question, "where there is often medical fraud...might not be 100 per cent reliable".
The changes are being implemented as part of the Gulf Co-operative Council's expatriate worker medical examination programme, which began in 1995.
When you are working or living abroad, or have plans of relocating into another country, it is very important that you protect you and your family’s health and their wellness.
Expatriates make sure you are covered for International Medical Insurance, April Medibroker assists & advises clients living or working abroad to both choose & place the right international Health and Medical insurance products, to suit their needs & budget.
April Medibroker is here to help you - from the initial advice on what expatriate health insurance policy to buy, through to any assistance that you may need in the future. Our staff are only a phone call or email away. Whether you need changes to cover or payment, need help with a claim or have questions about your international medical insurance policy we will gladly help.
The new rules will apply to foreign workers from 10 countries, the UAE’s ministry of health said at a recent press conference. The ministry of Health in the U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates) is preparing to implement the new regulations in an effort to cut down the amount of communicable diseases brought into the country.
The U.A.E. is particularly vulnerable to this problem as almost 90% of it's residents are Expats, meaning the potential for diseases to be brought into the country is considerable.
Designed to stop newcomers from bringing dangerous diseases into the UAE, the scheme is expected to be rolled out from October 1, with Indonesia and Sri Lanka the first countries affected. Eight more countries – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia – will be added later.
Expats will be screened mainly for contagious diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and HIV/Aids, at approved medical centres, with those who test positive refused entry. They will also be subjected to confirmatory re-tests once they are in the country.
Dr Sneh Khemka, medical director at Bupa International, said the changes seemed “sensible“. “The UAE has long been very stringent about disease control, as they have many workers coming in from other countries. These workers carry two risks: firstly, transmission, and secondly, a burden on the health system," he said.
He raised doubts however about the effectiveness of the system, as identifying latent cases of diseases such as TB "could be diagnostically challenging". He also said there was a risk that test results from the countries in question, "where there is often medical fraud...might not be 100 per cent reliable".
The changes are being implemented as part of the Gulf Co-operative Council's expatriate worker medical examination programme, which began in 1995.
When you are working or living abroad, or have plans of relocating into another country, it is very important that you protect you and your family’s health and their wellness.
Expatriates make sure you are covered for International Medical Insurance, April Medibroker assists & advises clients living or working abroad to both choose & place the right international Health and Medical insurance products, to suit their needs & budget.
April Medibroker is here to help you - from the initial advice on what expatriate health insurance policy to buy, through to any assistance that you may need in the future. Our staff are only a phone call or email away. Whether you need changes to cover or payment, need help with a claim or have questions about your international medical insurance policy we will gladly help.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)