DNA Fingerprinting Throws Doubt on Glaxo Malaria Vaccine Effort
- Malaria is like flu, with thousands of strains, study shows
- Strain theory suggests shots must be 100% efficacious to work
Malaria screening in Mali.
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Groundbreaking research has shown the potentially deadly malaria parasite has greater genetic diversity than scientists previously understood, a finding that throws doubt on the efficacy of vaccines in development by companies such GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
A study involving more than 600 children from a single village in the West African nation of Gabon found that each had malaria caused by a different strain of the Plasmodium parasite -- or a different composite of as many as 60 genes.