Nature Medicine
February 2013, Volume 19 No 2 pp113-246
http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v19/n2/index.html

Public health challenges and prospects for malaria control and elimination – pp150 – 155
Pedro L Alonso & Marcel Tanner
doi:10.1038/nm.3077

Malaria’s death toll has been reduced as a result of global efforts over the last decade. Yet the rise of drug resistance and the plateauing of funding are still obstacles to eradicating the disease and reducing malaria burden. This review brings up the goals and challenges faced by researchers and the public health workforce and a way forward to effectively control and eliminate malaria.

Abstract
The past decade witnessed unprecedented efforts to control malaria, including renewed political and financial commitment and increased availability of both old and new strategies and tools. However, malaria still represents a major health burden, particularly in Africa. Important challenges such as the fragility of many health systems, the rise of insecticide and drug resistance, and particularly the expected decline both in funding and in the coverage of key interventions if they are not replaced as needed, urgently need to be addressed. Further research and development is also becoming increasingly crucial. Among other needs, common methodologies for estimating and tracking the malaria burden, new strategies to measure transmission, better understanding of immunity, and increased knowledge of the mechanisms and effects of resistance to drugs and insecticides stand out. The ongoing efforts in research and development for new antimalarial drugs, more sensitive point-of-care rapid diagnostic tests and new insecticides need further innovation and substantial strengthening. Clearly, efforts should focus not only on Plasmodium falciparum but also and increasingly on Plasmodium vivax, the neglected human malaria parasite. Addressing these challenges in a comprehensive and timely way will allow us to sustain the gains made so far and make further progress in control and progressive elimination.

Immune mechanisms in malaria: new insights in vaccine development – pp168 – 178
FOCUS ON MALARIA
Eleanor M Riley & V Ann Stewart
doi:10.1038/nm.3083

Abstract
Early data emerging from the first phase 3 trial of a malaria vaccine are raising hopes that a licensed vaccine will soon be available for use in endemic countries, but given the relatively low efficacy of the vaccine, this needs to be seen as a major step forward on the road to a malaria vaccine rather than as arrival at the final destination. The focus for vaccine developers now moves to the next generation of malaria vaccines, but it is not yet clear what characteristics these new vaccines should have or how they can be evaluated. Here we briefly review the epidemiological and immunological requirements for malaria vaccines and the recent history of malaria vaccine development and then put forward a manifesto for future research in this area.     We argue that rational design of more effective malaria vaccines will be accelerated by a better understanding of the immune effector mechanisms involved in parasite regulation, control and elimination.