An experimental malaria vaccine tested on children in Burkina Faso has shown “a high level of efficacy” in protecting against the disease, a study published in the US.

The study was initially planned to study the safety and immune response of the vaccine, known by the name MSP3.

“However, as malaria attacks were documented as part of the safety follow-up, the investigators decided to explore the protective effect of the vaccine,” a report, which was published in yesterday’s New England Journal of Medicine, said.

“Results indicate a high level of efficacy.”

In the study, 45 children aged 12-24 months were randomised into three groups receiving doses of either 15 or 30 micrograms of the experimental malaria vaccine, or the control vaccine against Hepatitis B.

“Comparing the groups, they found a striking difference,” the study said.

It found children who received the new vaccine at either dose had incidence rates three to four times lower than children who did not, “yielding efficacy rates of 64 and 77 per cent protection against clinical malaria,” the journal article said.

“I found the results of this preliminary study in Burkina Faso to be most encouraging,” said Louis Miller, former chief of the Malaria Vaccine Development Branch of the US National Institutes of Health, in the journal.

“Larger efficacy trials in diverse epidemiological settings will be required to confirm these results.”

The study was led by scientists from the National Centre for Research and Training on Malaria in Burkina Faso, the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Paris-based Pasteur Institute.

The researchers found those receiving the vaccine at either dose had more antibodies protecting against malaria.

“Despite the limitations of the design and small sample size, these results strongly suggest a significant protective effect over the follow-up period,” the study said.