Adjust font size: August 03, 2012 Australian Researchers Achieve
Malaria Breakthrough by Phil Mercer SYDNEY — Australian
scientists say they have made an important discovery in the
fight against malaria. They have found that people in Africa who
are immune to malaria have developed powerful natural defenses
against the disease. Around the world, a child dies of malaria
every 30 seconds. The disease, however, is preventable and
curable. Melbourne's Burnet Institute who are searching for ways
to develop a vaccine believe that people in east Africa could
help unlock some of the secrets of this unremitting disease. The
scientists are investigating why some Kenyans have become immune
to malaria. They have identified antibodies, which are part of
the body’s natural defenses, that attack the malaria parasite.
The hope is that a vaccine can be developed to recreate this
natural immunity. Professor James Beeson, a public health
physician at the Burnet Institute, says it is an important
breakthrough. "What we know is t