Two New Vaccines Successfully Protected Mice From Zika Virus

Two newly-developed vaccines prevented Zika (ZIKV) infections in mice, and may be able to protect humans from the virus, according to a new study pre-published online in the journal Nature last week.

In the study, mice who were vaccinated did not become infected when exposed to the Zika virus four and eight weeks later.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of the Zika virus an international emergency last February after the virus was linked to increased cases of microcephaly in babies born to pregnant women who were infected.

“The explosive epidemiology of the current ZIKV outbreak and the devastating clinical consequences for fetuses in pregnant women who become infected demand the urgent development of a ZIKV vaccine,” the study said.

“Our data demonstrate that complete protection against ZIKV challenge was reliably and robustly achieved with both DNA vaccines and purified inactivated virus vaccines in susceptible mice.”

The research was conducted by Rafael Larocca, Peter Abbink, and other scientists from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) at Harvard Medical School, the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), and the Ragon Institute of MHG, MIT and Harvard.

Since mice suffer similar effects from the Zika virus as humans, the researchers are confident the success of the vaccine in mice will lead to the development of the vaccine for humans, and clinical trials to test the vaccines on humans are expected to take place later this year, according to the BIDMC.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the Ragon Institute, and the San Paulo Research Foundation.