The Phase 3 clinical trial was conducted among 6,000 sub-Saharan African children five to 17 months old who were given three doses. The vaccine is designed to prevent the malaria parasite from infecting, maturing and multiplying in the liver and reentering the bloodstream.
A malaria vaccine has been a goal for more than 20 years. The disease kills more than 1 million people each year -- mostly sub-Sahara African children younger than age 5. Those who don't die from the disease, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, can suffer severe illness.
Phase 2 results on the vaccine were published in 2004 and the new data confirm the earlier findings on safety and efficacy, said a principal investigator of the study, Dr. Tsiri Agbenyega of Ghana's University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
After 12 months of follow-up, the study found a 56% reduction in the risk of developing malaria and a 47% reduction in severe malaria. The risk of side effects in the vaccinated children was similar to that for the control group.
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