During the August episode of Emerging Insights, MLW’s flagship Television Programme Anthony Chirwa, a physician under the Malawi Accelerated Research in Vaccines Experimental Laboratory Systems (MARVELS) said after establishing a robust model for testing pneumococcus and vaccines, and they are now expanding to include special populations, particularly people living with HIV. This work aims to shape future vaccination policies for at-risk groups.
MLW is conducting a controlled human infection model (CHIM) study under the MARVELS project, an innovative approach that involves deliberately introducing an infectious organism to healthy volunteers to study the disease process and immune responses. Over the past five years, the MARVELS project has developed a pneumococcal CHIM to study the pneumococcus bacterium, which causes diseases like pneumonia, ear infections, and meningitis.
The project collaborates closely with the government of Malawi through the Blantyre District Health Office, various communities in Blantyre, community leaders, and health workers at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.
The team conducted consultations with stakeholders in 2017 to ensure the model’s acceptability in Malawi, and by 2019, initial trials with 24 participants demonstrated the model’s safety and feasibility. In 2021, the team successfully used this model to evaluate the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in 204 participants.
Edward Mangani, a research nurse with MARVELS, outlined the eligibility criteria for participants: “Eligible participants include those aged between 18 and 45, living within an hour’s walking distance from Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, not pregnant, and having a cellphone for communication. We also conduct HIV tests as we are currently only working with those who are HIV-negative.”
Mangani further emphasized the importance of participation in the CHIM study, likening it to past volunteer efforts for drugs like ibuprofen and ARVs. By volunteering, participants help test vaccine efficacy, ultimately contributing to a healthier population in Malawi and beyond.
To learn more about the study watch the video on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIVduAGeHLU&t=560s