Plasmodium vivax transmission-blocking vaccines: Progress, challenges and innovation

Existing control measures have significantly reduced malaria morbidity and mortality in the last two decades, although these reductions are now stalling. Significant efforts have been undertaken to develop malaria vaccines. Recently, extensive progress in malaria vaccine development has been made for Plasmodium falciparum. To date, only the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine has been tested in Phase 3 clinical trials and is now under implementation, despite modest efficacy. Therefore, the development of a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV) will be essential for malaria elimination. Only a limited number of TBVs have reached pre-clinical or clinical development with several major challenges impeding their development, including low immunogenicity in humans. TBV development efforts against P. vivax, the second major cause of malaria morbidity, lag far behind those for P. falciparum. In this review we summarize the latest progress, challenges and innovations in P. vivax TBV research and discuss how to accelerate its development.

Automated summary

Existing control measures have made significant progress in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality, but progress has been slowing down in recent years. Efforts have been made to develop malaria vaccines, with more progress made for Plasmodium falciparum. However, the development of a malaria transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV) is crucial for malaria elimination. Challenges in developing TBVs, including low immunogenicity in humans, have hindered progress. In this review, the latest progress, challenges, and innovations in P. vivax TBV research are summarized, along with discussions on accelerating its development.