Name: The Battle to Beat Malaria
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NOVA

Are scientists on the verge of a breakthrough in the fight against malaria, one of humanity’s oldest and most devastating plagues? Follow researchers as they develop and test a promising new vaccine on a quest to save millions of lives.

Follow the quest to create a lifesaving malaria vaccine.

The Battle to Beat Malaria Preview

Battle to Beat Malaria Preview

Malaria overwhelms the body before it has a chance to fight back, making the development of a vaccine especially challenging.

About 80% of deaths caused by Malaria annually are young children, below the age of five.

Why Mosquitos Are Humanity’s Deadliest Creature

Around the 1900s, parts of the United States were awash with Malaria—especially in the South and parts of the Eastern Seaboard. And it even has impacted major historical events like the American Revolution.

Today, Malaria is considered a tropical disease, but it wasn’t always that way.

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The World Health Organization approved anti-malaria vaccine, R-21, in 2023. Children in Ivory Coast were the first to receive the vaccine in July of 2024.

These scientists were on the verge of a breakthrough with a promising vaccine nearing approval.

Inside the Fight To Develop a Malaria Vaccine

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The Battle to Beat Malaria

Battle to Beat Malaria

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Arm with a mosquito on it. Shadow outline of kids in the background

Malaria is one of humanity’s oldest and most devastating plagues. In many parts of the world, it remains an ever-present scourge that sickens or kills millions of people each year. What if it could finally be defeated? Now, scientists may be on the verge of a breakthrough with a promising vaccine in the final stages of testing and approval. Follow researchers on a quest to deliver humankind from one of the world’s deadliest diseases. (Premiered November 15, 2023 at 9 pm on PBS)

Follow the quest to create a lifesaving malaria vaccine.

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A transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (orange) replicating from the plasma membrane of an infected H9 T cell. Credit: NIAID, Flickr

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The Battle to Beat Malaria

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Explore More

Nigeria’s Bet on Beating Drug-Resistant Malaria

Dogs Can Diagnose Malaria By Sniffing Socks

Vaccines—Calling the Shots

Why Mosquitos Are Humanity’s Deadliest Creature

How Malaria Shaped America

Malaria is outsmarting blood tests. Can a breath test help?

Inside the Fight To Develop a Malaria Vaccine

The Battle to Beat Malaria