BIO-006 is a "malaria challenge" study, part of the OptiViVax consortium, where up to five healthy volunteers (aged 18–45) will be deliberately exposed to Plasmodium vivax under controlled conditions. Participants will travel to Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, accompanied by the University of Oxford study team, where they will be bitten by mosquitoes carrying the parasite. After exposure, they will return to Oxford for close monitoring and care.
Participants will receive daily phone check-ins for the first six days, followed by in-person medical assessments from day seven. Once malaria parasites are detected in the blood, they will be treated with a standard anti-malaria medication that clears parasites from the bloodstream but does not eliminate dormant liver parasites. This approach allows researchers to study relapsing infections over the following six-month period.
During this phase, participants will attend fortnightly clinic visits and have access to 24/7 medical support. Any relapse infections will be treated. After the study period, participants will receive a full treatment course, including an additional medication called Primaquine to clear liver-stage parasites and prevent future relapses. Long-term follow-up will continue via email for five years to monitor for any unexpected outcomes.
This is the first study to allow controlled observation of relapsing malaria in humans, offering novel insight into how often relapses occur and how the immune system responds.
Learn more about the BIO-006 study here: https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/studies/bio006