LONDON, Shawwal 8, 1436, Jul 24, 2015, SPA -- The world's first vaccine against malaria was approved by the European Medicines Agency, clearing the first regulatory hurdle before using it to battle the parasite that claims half a million lives per year, UPI reported. The vaccine, called RTS.S, or Mosquirix, is not universally effective and its ability to protect from malaria infection begins to fade after a year, but when combined with current efforts such as treated bed nets, researchers think it will be effective at reducing malaria cases and deaths. Malaria is spread through bites from mosquitoes carrying parasites called plasmodia. --SPA 17:34 LOCAL TIME 14:34 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w