“A safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection and the devastating birth defects it causes is a public health imperative”, said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD. The new vaccine candidate is similar to another NIAID developed for West Nile virus, which was deemed safe after a Phase 1 clinical trial. The bit of genetic material isn’t infectious; after injection, the genes prompt the body into an immune response that ultimately creates antibodies against the virus.
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After their first injection, participants of the study will return to check-ups for the next 44 weeks to evaluate their health and the vaccine’s effectiveness.
“This is just the beginning of testing, so when we think about prevention and control of Zika, we should not yet be counting on a vaccine”, said Neuzil.
The other two are based on viral DNA, and a fragment of the infectious agent carried by another virus that has been rendered harmless.
The virus recently has made its appearance in US territory with the first 15 confirmed homegrown cases in the Miami neighborhoods of Wynwood and Edgewater.
Beth Israel’s Barouch said: “The World Health Organization has declared the Zika epidemic a public health emergency”. Marco Rubio and others have been trying to get the Senate and the House leaders to try again, but Congress is in recess. The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to the Miami neighborhood of Wynwood where mosqui.
Blunt said if Obama views this as a crisis, the administration can move more money around.
“The department is committed to using scarce federal dollars aggressively and prudently, especially in light of Congress’ inaction to provide any additional resources and the uncertainty around whether Congress will provide resources in the future”, [Burwell] said, referring to the partisan gridlock that has so far prevented lawmakers from sending the Zika spending legislation to the White House. The virus can cause severe birth defects.
Pentagon officials did not name the countries where the service members contracted the disease. But to progress beyond that, researchers need more funding, he said. These encouraging findings suggest a path forward for clinical development of Zika vaccines in humans, according to the researchers.
Obama’s comments come as 41 Democratic US senators on Thursday urged Republican congressional leaders to summon lawmakers back from their summer recess to vote on emergency funding to combat the mosquito-borne virus, but Republicans blamed Democrats for the inaction in Congress.
While there would likely be more cases, Obama said government experts don’t expect widespread outbreaks of the virus in the U.S.as has been seen in Brazil and Puerto Rico. “Even if you go into every house, you don’t get to the top of roofs, you don’t get behind houses, there’s always some places you can’t reach”, Frieden said.
“The Aedes aegypti mosquito does not travel more than 150 meters in its lifetime, and often quite a bit less than that”, Frieden said. The virus is spread by certain mosquitoes and through sexual contact.
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The CDC advises pregnant women not to travel to an area where active Zika transmission is ongoing, and to use insect repellent and wear long trousers and long-sleeved shirts if they are in those areas.
