Africa trial for malaria vaccine

Malaria takes the lives of up to two and a half million children each year in Africa. Now, some 16,000 children on the continent are part of a massive medical trial aimed at creating the world's first malaria vaccine.

Malaria is caused by parasites and spread by mosquitoes.

Researchers are working to create a vaccine.

Trials on one possible candidate are being conducted in seven African countries.

Dr. Samuel Kariuki, Deputy Chief Researcher, Team of the Malaria Vaccine Trials, said, "We expect that this vaccine will have a tremendous effect in the reduction of the number of admissions we see in the hospital and the number of deaths that occur due to malaria, especially in young children."

The preliminary trials on four thousand children so far show the vaccine could be at least 30 percent effective against mild malaria cases and about 50 percent effective against severe malaria.