A new malaria vaccine could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, research suggests.
The vaccine, developed with the help of British scientists, halves the rate of severe malaria in babies and young children.
Malaria kills around 800,000 people a year. Most are children under five years old.
Colin Sutherland of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the results were 'very exciting'.
'You would not use this vaccine to protect yourself on a two-week holiday in Africa,' he said.
'But as a public health measure where many children get severe malaria and are at risk of death it looks like a very important tool.'
In the groundbreaking trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, more than 15,000 African children aged between five and 17 months were given three doses of the vaccine, called RTS,S.
Analysis of the first 6,000 children showed that cases of clinical malaria were reduced by 56%. Rates of severe malaria, which is frequently fatal, fell by 47% over the 12 month study.
The jab is the result of a partnership between pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the PATH vaccine initiative.
Microsoft boss Bill Gates, who helped to fund the new trial, said: 'A vaccine is the simplest, most cost effective way to save lives.
'These results demonstrate the power of working with partners to create a malaria vaccine that has the potential to protect millions of children from this devastating disease.'
Scientists will continue to monitor children in the trial to establish how long the immunity lasts for. It is hoped the World Health Organisation could recommend the vaccine as early as 2015.
GSK has said it will provide the vaccine at a price of 5% above the cost of manufacture, far less than the normal return on a new medicine.
Chief Executive Andrew Witty said: 'These data bring us to the cusp of having the world's first malaria vaccine, which has the potential to significantly improve the outlook for children living in malaria endemic regions across Africa.'
EMS Price at posting:
1.8¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
