The key to a better malaria vaccine | Faith Osier

Translator: Doris Mangalu Reviewer: Nelson Simfukwe

There are 200 million clinical cases

Kuna kesi milioni 200 za ki-kliniki

of falciparum malaria in Africa every year,

za malaria ya falsiparam Afrika kila mwaka,

resulting in half a million deaths.

iliyosababisha vifo nusu millioni.

I would like to talk to you about malaria vaccines.

Ningependa kuongea nanyi kuhusu chanjo ya malaria.

The ones that we have made to date are simply not good enough.

Ambazo tumetengeneza mpaka sasa hazina ubora wa kutosha.

Why?

Kwanini?

We've been working at it for 100 plus years.

Tumeifanyia kazi kwa miaka 100 na zaidi.

When we started, technology was limited.

Tulivyoanza, teknolojia ilikuwa duni.

We could see just a tiny fraction of what the parasite really looked like.

Tuliweza kuona sehemu ndogo tu ya jinsi kimelea kinavyoonekana.

Today, we are awash with technology,

Leo, tunamiminika na teknolojia,

advanced imaging and omics platforms --

upiga picha ulioendelea na jukwaa la omiks --

genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics.

genomiksi, transkriptomiksi, proteomiksi.

These tools have given us a clearer view

Hizi zana zimetupa mtazamo wa wazi

of just how complex the parasite really is.

wa jinsi kimelea kilivyo na utata.

However, in spite of this,

Hata hivyo, licha ya hili,

our approach to vaccine design has remained pretty rudimentary.

mbinu yetu ya kubuni chanjo imebakia kuwa ya msingi.

To make a good vaccine, we must go back to basics

Kutengeneza chanjo nzuri, tunalazimika kurudi kwenye misingi

to understand how our bodies handle this complexity.

kuelewa jinsi miili yetu ina shughulikia huu utata.

People who are frequently infected with malaria

Watu wanaoambukizwa na malaria mara kwa mara

learn to deal with it.

hujifunza kukabiliana nayo.

They get the infection, but they don't get ill.

Wanapata maambukizi, lakini hawaumwi.

The recipe is encoded in antibodies.

Maagizo yameandikwa kwenye kinga mwili.

My team went back to our complex parasite,

Timu yangu ilirudi kwenye kimelea chetu tata,

probed it with samples from Africans who had overcome malaria

kikachunguzwa na sampuli kutoka kwa Waafrika walioishinda malaria

to answer the question:

kujibu swali:

"What does a successful antibody response look like?"

"Mwitikio uliofanikiwa wa kingamwili unafananaje?"

We found over 200 proteins,

Tumepata zaidi ya protini 200,

many of which are not on the radar for malaria vaccines.

nyingi ambazo haziko kwenye rada ya chanjo ya malaria.

My research community may be missing out important parts of the parasite.

Jamii yangu ya utafiti inaweza kukosa sehemu muhimu za kimelea.

Until recently, when one had identified a protein of interest,

Mpaka hivi karibuni, pale mmoja alipotambua protini yenye umuhimu,

they tested whether it might be important for a vaccine

walijaribu kama itakuwa muhimu kwa chanjo

by conducting a cohort study.

kwa kuongoza utafiti wa kundi.

This typically involved about 300 participants in a village in Africa,

Hii kawaida inahusisha washiriki takribani 300 kwenye kijiji cha Afrika,

whose samples were analyzed to see

ambao sampuli zao zilichambuliwa kuona

whether antibodies to the protein would predict who got malaria

kama kingamwili kwa protini zingetabiri nani kapata malaria

and who did not.

na nani hakupata.

In the past 30 years,

Katika miaka 30 iliyopita,

these studies have tested a small number of proteins

hizi tafiti zimejaribu namba ndogo ya protini

in relatively few samples

kwenye kiasi kichache cha sampuli

and usually in single locations.

na kawaida kwenye eneo moja moja.

The results have not been consistent.

Majibu hayakuwa thabiti.

My team essentially collapsed 30 years of this type of research

Timu yangu kimsingi ilivunja miaka 30 ya aina hii ya tafiti

into one exciting experiment, conducted over just three months.

kwenye jaribio moja la kusisimua, liliyofanywa zaidi ya miezi mitatu tu.

Innovatively, we assembled 10,000 samples

Kiubunifu, tulikusanya sampuli 10,000

from 15 locations in seven African countries,

kutoka maeneo 15 kwenye nchi saba za Afrika,

spanning time, age and the variable intensity

ikiwa na upeo wa muda, umri na kiwango kinachotofautiana

of malaria experienced in Africa.

cha malaria kilichozoeleka Afrika.

We used omics intelligence to prioritize our parasite proteins,

Tulitumia akili za omiks kuipa kipaumbele protini za vimelea,

synthesize them in the lab

kuziunganisha maabara

and in short, recreated the malaria parasite on a chip.

na kiufupi, tulijenga upya kimelea cha malaria kwenye chenga.

We did this in Africa, and we're very proud of that.

Tulifanya hivi Afrika, na tuna fahari sana juu ya hilo.

(Applause)

(Makofi)

The chip is a small glass slide,

Hiyo chenga ni chembe ndogo ya bilauri,

but it gives us incredible power.

lakini inatupa nguvu ya ajabu.

We simultaneously gathered data on over 100 antibody responses.

Wakati huo huo tulikusanya takwimu ya zaidi ya majibu 100 ya kingamwili.

What are we looking for?

Nini tunachotafuta?

The recipe behind a successful antibody response,

Mchanganyiko maalumu unaohusu mrejesho kamilifu wa kingamwili,

so that we can predict what might make a good malaria vaccine.

ili tuweze kutabiri nini kinafanya chanjo nzuri ya malaria.

We're also trying to figure out

Tunajaribu pia kufikiri

exactly what antibodies do to the parasite.

nini hasa kingamwili inafanya kwenye kimelea.

How do they kill it?

Jinsi wanavyoviua?

Do they attack from multiple angles? Is there synergy?

Wanashambulia kutoka pembe nyingi? Kuna ushirikiano?

How much antibody do you need?

Ni kiasi gani cha kingamwili kinahitajika?

Our studies suggest that having a bit of one antibody won't be enough.

Tafiti zetu zinaonyesha kua kukiwa na moja kingamwili kidogo haitoshi.

It might take high concentrations of antibodies

Inaweza kuchukua viwango vya juu vya kingamwili

against multiple parasite proteins.

dhidi ya protini nyingi za vimelea.

We're also learning that antibodies kill the parasite in multiple ways,

Tunajifunza pia kingamwili huua kimelea kwa njia nyingi,

and studying any one of these in isolation may not adequately reflect reality.

na kusoma moja ya hizo yenyewe inaweza isionyeshe ukweli wa kutosha.

Just like we can now see the parasite in greater definition,

Kama tu jinsi tunaona sasa kimelea kwa maelezo zaidi,

my team and I are focused

timu yangu na mimi tumelenga

on understanding how our bodies overcome this complexity.

kwenye kuelewa jinsi miili yetu inashinda utata huu.

We believe that this could provide the breakthroughs that we need

Tunaamini kua hii italeta mafanikio tunayohitaji

to make malaria history through vaccination.

na kufanya malaria iwe historia kupitia chanjo.

Thank you.

Asanteni.

(Applause)

(Makofi)

(Cheers)

(Shangwe)

(Applause)

(Makofi)

Shoham Arad: OK, how close are we actually to a malaria vaccine?

Shoham Arad: Sawa, tuko karibu kiasi gani kupata chanjo cha malaria?

Faith Osier: We're just at the beginning of a process

Faith Osier: Tuko mwanzo tu wa mchakato huu

to try and understand what we need to put in the vaccine

kujaribu kuelewa nini tunahitaji kuweka kwenye chanjo

before we actually start making it.

kabla hatujaanza kuitengeneza kweli.

So, we're not really close to the vaccine, but we're getting there.

Hivyo, hatukokaribu sana na chanjo, lakini tunaelekea huko.

SA: And we're hopeful.

SA: Na tuna matumaini.

FO: And we're very hopeful.

FO: Na tuna matumaini kweli.

SA: Tell me about SMART, tell me what does it stand for

SA: Niambie kuhusu SMART, niambie inasimama kwa nini

and why is it important to you?

na kwanini ni muhimu kwako?

FO: So SMART stands for South-South Malaria Antigen Research Partnership.

FO: SMART ni Ushirikiano wa Tafiti ya Antijeni za Malaria Kusini-Kusini.

The South-South is referring to us in Africa,

Ile Kusini-Kusini inarejea kwa sisi wa Afrika,

looking sideways to each other in collaboration,

tukiangalia upande wa kila mmoja kwa ushirikiano,

in contrast to always looking to America and looking to Europe,

tofauti na kuangalia daima kwa Marekani na kuangalia kwa Ulaya,

when there is quite some strength within Africa.

wakati kabisa kuna nguvu fulani ndani ya Afrika.

So in SMART,

Hivyo kwenye SMART,

apart from the goal that we have, to develop a malaria vaccine,

licha ya lengo tulilonalo, kuendeleza chanjo ya malaria,

we are also training African scientists,

tunafundisha pia wanasayansi wa Kiafrika,

because the burden of disease in Africa is high,

kwa sababu mzigo wa ugonjwa Afrika uko juu,

and you need people who will continue to push the boundaries

na unahitaji watu watakaoendelea kusukuma mipaka

in science, in Africa.

kwenye sayansi, ndani ya Afrika.

SA: Yes, yes, correct.

SA: Ndio, ndio, ni kweli.

(Applause)

(Makofi)

OK, one last question.

Sawa, swali moja la mwisho.

Tell me, I know you mentioned this a little bit,

Niambie, najua umeongelea hili kidogo,

but how would things actually change if there were a malaria vaccine?

lakini ni vipi hasa vitu vitabadilika kama kutakua na chanjo ya malaria?

FO: We would save half a million lives every year.

FO: Tungeokoa nusu milioni ya maisha kila mwaka.

Two hundred million cases.

Kesi milioni mia mbili.

It's estimated that malaria costs Africa 12 billion US dollars a year.

Imekadiriwa kua malaria inagharimu Afrika dola za Kimarekani bilioni 12 kwa mwaka.

So this is economics.

Hivyo hii ni uchumi.

Africa would simply thrive.

Afrika ingestawi kirahisi.

SA: OK. Thank you, Faith.

SA: Sawa. Asante, Faith.

Thank you so much.

Asante sana.

(Applause)

(Makofi)