QLD:Human guinea pigs ready for malaria trial

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2011
QLD:Human guinea pigs ready for malaria trial

BRISBANE, Dec 21 AAP - Sixteen people have volunteered to be injected with a disease
that kills up to a million people a year.

Experts from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research are looking at improving
anti-malaria drugs and developing vaccines before they are tested more broadly in malaria-prone
regions.

A spokeswoman for the institute, which put out a call for willing participants on December
1, told AAP there had been great interest in the program.

The researchers say the volunteers will make a difference to the lives of millions.

"We've recruited all our participants within about a day or two," the spokeswoman said.

The recruits will still be able to enjoy the festive season, as the trial will start
in the new year.

Professor James McCarthy said researchers would closely monitor immune responses to
measure the effectiveness of the treatments.

He assured participants they would end the trial alive and healthy, because they would
be given only a small amount of malaria parasites.

"Our volunteers will finish without a trace of malaria in their body," he said.

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KEYWORD: MALARIA

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