Australian scientists say they have made a malaria vaccine discovery that takes them a step closer to understanding the immunology of the disease.

Researchers at Melbourne's Burnet Institute have found people who are immune to malaria, develop antibodies to a specific protein produced by the disease.

Earlier this year, American researchers found a third of the drugs used to treat malaria are counterfeit.

Malaria kills nearly o­ne million people a year worldwide including in Pacific countries like Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

The senior author of the Burnet Institute study, Professor James Beeson, says the findings are a big step in getting o­n top of the disease.

"Many of the drugs that we've been using to treat malaria, the infection's becoming resistant, so they're becoming less effective," he said.

"So what that means is that our ability to treat and control malaria is declining, and that really puts the emphasis back o­n trying to find and develop effective vaccines that we can administer in malaria affected areas."

The new findings have been published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation.

VIDEO: Breakthrough in malaria vaccine research (Australia Network News)

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