Zika vaccine still years away - WHO stat : Radio New Zealand

The World Health Organisation says about 40 potential vaccines for the Zika virus are being tested. An earlier outbreak of a less severe form of Zika hit tens of thousands of people in French Polynesia in 2013. Photo: 123.rfIn a statement to mark the first anniversary of WHO declaring Zika as an international emergency, it says it is unlikely a vaccine will be available for women of childbearing age before 2020. To date, 29 countries have reported thousands of babies born with Zika-linked microcephaly. The WHO says five vaccines are entering or about to enter into clinical trial for safety and ability to induce an immune response.




Post-vaccine antibodies stay highThe vaccine contains mRNA coding two key proteins from a Zika virus isolated in a 2013 outbreak. Also, Weisman said production of an mRNA vaccine would probably be easier and less expensive than live-virus or DNA-based vaccines. See also:Feb 2 Nature abstractFeb 2 University of Pennsylvania press releaseJan 10 CIDRAP News story "Zika mRNA vaccine enters clinical trial; Angola reports cases"Feb 2 CDC Zika updateJan 27 Florida Health statementFeb 2 Margaret Chan commentary There are about 40 Zika virus vaccines in the development pipeline. A team from the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, and the National Institutes of Health reported its findings today in Nature.


Read more:Years before Zika vaccine becomes availableWHO: Zika no longer a 'global health emergency'New clues on how Zika virus causes microcephaly Zika vaccine – iStock ~An innovative vaccine made from genetic material protected lab animals from the Zika virus in experiments, scientists report, calling it a "promising" lead in fighting the threat to humans. Read: Brazil says Zika vaccine will take 3 to 5 yearsOnce there, the vaccine RNA is incorporated into the cell's protein-making machinery, where it mimics the action of a live virus vaccine – building up an immune response. "This candidate vaccine represents a promising strategy for the global fight against Zika virus." Build-up of antibodiesThe World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency in February last year, and declared it over in mid-November.



collected by :Lucy William

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