Acceptability of a herd immunity-focused, transmission-blocking malaria vaccine in malaria-endemic communities in the Peruvian Amazon: an exploratory study

Acceptability of a herd immunity-focused, transmission-blocking malaria vaccine in malaria-endemic communities in the Peruvian Amazon: an exploratory study

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Abstract Background A transmission-blocking vaccine (TBV) to prevent malaria-infected humans from infecting mosquitoes has been increasingly considered as a tool for malaria control and elimination.This study tested the hypothesis that a malaria TBV would be acceptable among residents of a malaria-hypoendemic region.Methods The study was carried out in six Spanish-speaking rural villages in the Department of Loreto in the Peruvian Amazon.

These villages comprise a cohort of 430 households associated with the Peru-Brazil International Centre for Excellence in Malaria Research.Individuals from one-third (143) of enrolled households in an ongoing longitudinal, prospective cohort study in 6 communities in Loreto, Peru, were randomly selected to participate by answering a pre-validated questionnaire.Results All Outdoor Counter Table 143 participants expressed desire for a malaria Framed Art vaccine in general; only 1 (0.

7%) expressed unwillingness to receive a transmission-blocking malaria vaccine.Injection was considered most acceptable for adults (97.2%); for children drops in the mouth were preferred (96.

8%).Acceptability waned marginally with the prospect of multiple injections (83.8%) and different projected efficacies at 70 and 50% (90.

1 and 71.8%, respectively).Respondents demonstrated clear understanding that the vaccine was for community, rather than personal, protection against malaria infection.

Discussion In this setting of the Peruvian Amazon, a transmission-blocking malaria vaccine was found to be almost universally acceptable.This study is the first to report that residents of a malaria-endemic region have been queried regarding a malaria vaccine strategy that policy-makers in the industrialized world often dismiss as altruistic.