Cross-stage immunity for malaria vaccine development

The incorporation of a blood-stage component into a multi-stage malaria vaccine would hence not only combat breakthrough infections in the blood should the pre-erythrocytic component fail to induce sterile protection, but would also actively enhance the pre-erythrocytic potency of this vaccine. We therefore advocate that future studies should concentrate on the identification of cross-stage protective malaria antigens, which can empower multi-stage malaria vaccine development.