U.S. researchers have discovered a protein that could lead to a new malaria vaccine.

According to researchers at Rhode Island Hospital, the protein allows malaria-causing parasites to escape from inside red blood cells. The parasite is trapped within these red blood cells by antibodies to this protein.

The discovery of this protein could lead to a highly effective vaccine to protect children from developing Plasmodium falciparum malaria, a deadly form of malaria that kills one child every 15 seconds in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria is a serious disease that is caused by a parasite that typically infects a specific type of mosquito. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1,500 Americans are diagnosed with malaria every year, with the vast majority of them infected abroad.

Jonathan Kurtis, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues, used mouse experiments to conduct five separate vaccination trials. The lab mice were injected with the novel antigen, then challenged with malaria parasites. The vaccinated mice displayed a lower levels of malaria parasites, and survived longer than the unvaccinated group in all five experiments.

“Many researchers are trying to find ways to develop a malaria vaccine by preventing the parasite from entering the red blood cell, and here we found a way to block it from leaving the cell once it has entered. If it’s trapped in the red blood cell, it can’t go anywhere… it can’t do any further damage,” said Kurtis in a statement.

The study’s findings are published in the journal Science.