Eligible volunteers were enrolled into the study after written, informed consent was obtained. All eligible volunteers were issued a unique number and a photo identification card. Volunteers were randomly allocated into three groups to receive either two 5 x10^7 pfu doses of FP9 ME-TRAP followed by a single dose of 1 x 10^8 pfu MVA ME-TRAP (malaria vaccine group) or 3 doses of rabies vaccine (Fansidar and rabies groups). All vaccines were give 4 weeks apart and were administered intradermally. Following vaccination, all volunteers were observed for 1 hr and given a course of anti-pyretic (paracetamol) to take if required. In addition, home visits were made by field workers on days 1, 2, 7 and 28 after each vaccination to record adverse events using a standard diary card. All volunteers received a single dose of Primaquine (30mg) 7 days before the final dose of vaccination as radical cure for gametocytes and a 3-day course of the short acting anti-malaria drugs, Lapdap and Artesunate in combination starting on the day of final vaccination to clear any asexual forms of the parasite before the follow-up period. Additionally, volunteers in the Fansidar group received the long acting anti-malarial drug and were expected to remain PCR negative throughout the follow-up period. Volunteers were followed up intensively for 28 days starting 7days after the last vaccination. The period of follow-up was timed to correspond with the period of high malaria transmission. Follow-up was by daily finger-pricks to obtain 0.5mls of blood in a microtainer for PCR analysis and a duplicate blood film for estimation of malaria parasites. Laboratory staff that conducted immunoassays and PCR analysis were blind to the group allocation of volunteers until after approval of the analysis plan by the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB).