March 17, 2017.
Two teams of American researchers have announced that they are on track to create a vaccine against the Zika virus. If their preliminary studies are conclusive, human tests could be carried out within two years.
Two teams of researchers raise hope in fight against Zika virus
A promising vaccine against the Zika virus has just been developed by two teams of American researchers who worked independently. To achieve their result, these scientists used part of the genetic heritage of the virus. In other words, they made use of messenger RNA (mRNA), a copy of a portion of DNA, which corresponds to several genes.
In the first of two studies, conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, and the findings of which were published in the journal Nature, injecting this mRNA into mice protected them against Zika virus for about 5 months. This same injection, in monkeys, immunized them for 5 weeks. The second team of researchers, from the Georges Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, focused on mice, and achieved the same results. Their findings were published in the journal Cell.
Zika: a virus particularly dangerous for pregnant women
The preliminary studies of these two research teams must now continue but seem conclusive insofar as no side effects were noted in guinea pigs. Possible clinical trials are then already imagined on humans, they could begin in 2019.
Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitoes but is then sexually transmitted. It can cause neurological disorders in adults and is particularly dangerous for pregnant women. The Zika virus has indeed been blamed for many cases of microcephaly and other neurological complications in areas where the epidemic has been virulent.
Sybille Latour
Read also: Questions / answers about the Zika virus
