The trial will let scientists and researchers know whether the vaccine is safe for usage on humans and the effect that it has on immune system response will also be measured.
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The news comes in the same week officials in Florida said 14 people had been infected with the virus in Miami and two babies in the U.S. were born with microcephaly due to being infected in the womb with the Zika virus.
With more than 50 countries and territories battling active Zika outbreaks, the need for a vaccine is clear.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned expectant mothers to steer clear of the city’s Wynwood neighborhood, where at least 15 people are believed to have been infected with the Zika virus through mosquito bites in the first such cases on record in the mainland U.S.
Zika fever or Zika virus disease, often causes no or only mild symptoms, similar to a very mild form of dengue fever.
The breakthrough offers hope that within months an effective jab will be available to prevent the devastating infection, which has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect which leaves babies with shrunken heads.
The two vaccines completely protected a total of eight monkeys against infection.
Efforts to develop a vaccine began after a massive Zika outbreak previous year in Brazil, which showed that infection of pregnant women can harm fetal brain development. “We are pleased that we are now able to proceed with this initial study in people”.
The experimental vaccine was developed earlier this year by experts at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases’s (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center. The second phase of clinical trials would be delayed as a result, and Americans would have to wait longer for a vaccine, according to Burwell.
In the monkey study, one vaccine followed the traditional approach, using a dead Zika virus to train the body for fighting off infection.
Barouch said the findings “raise optimism” for developing a successful Zika vaccine.
The vaccine contains a small, circular piece of DNA called a plasmid. A preliminary clinical trial found that it safely prompted an immune response. The volunteers will be divided into three groups. Volunteers will soon come to UMD’s Center for Vaccine Development to be injected with the experimental Zika vaccine. All participants will receive the same dose at each vaccination.
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. The study team will review patient data daily and weekly to monitor safety.
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“All of the vaccines now under development are many years away from being licensed and available for widespread public use”, Ed Wright, a virologist at the University of Westminster who was not involved in the study, told the BBC.
