This kind of slow, painstaking work will need to be accompanied by more research to develop vaccines and medicines and to create better weapons for controlling the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can carry not only Zika but also dengue, yellow fever and other viruses.
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The Zika virus has spread across the Latin Americas and the Caribbean, infecting thousands of people.
The NIAID has too little money to prepare for a Phase II vaccine trial that should be scheduled for January.
The group tested three different versions of vaccine candidates, including a “purified inactivated virus”, which is essentially a dead virus, along with a “plasmid DNA vaccine and an adenovirus vector-based vaccine”, produced at Beth Israel Deaconess. Both of the vaccine trials are being assessed for how safe these vaccines are for human use.
Researchers will begin testing one of the vaccines on humans this year.
The vaccine used in this latest experiment has a small piece of DNA with genes that code for Zika-virus proteins. Anthony Fauci, MD, director of NIAID stated, “A safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection and the devastating birth defects it causes is a public health imperative…”
There have now been 12 confirmed cases of babies born with Zika-related microcephaly in America, and more than 400 pregnant women in the continental USA displaying evidence of Zika infection.
Nelson’s state has become the epicenter for Zika in the U.S. At least 15 people are reported to be infected with the virus in Miami’s Wynwood arts district.
Next, the researchers extracted antibodies from the vaccinated monkeys and infused them into four other unvaccinated monkeys. This concern may soon be a thing of the past as three novel vaccine approaches have been shown to protect monkeys against the virus.
The two vaccines completely protected a total of eight monkeys against infection.
The almost yearlong study will include at least 80 adults at three study sites in the U.S. If the vaccine is proven to be safe, the NIH will begin the second part of its trial in Zika-affected countries early next year. “We are delighted to now be able to conduct the first study of people”, he said.
The development of new vaccines is a hard process that typically costs several hundred million dollars, which is why pharmaceutical companies have been scaling back their recent research efforts and have focused more of their energy on improving existing vaccines. Reports state that one of the vaccines will begin its trial on humans later this year.
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According to the CDC, anyone living in or traveling to an area affected by Zika should try to avoid mosquito bites – by using repellant and wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, for example.
