Friday, August 5, 2016

'Striking' Results from Early Zika Vaccine Trial

Three experimental vaccines being developed by researchers at Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research had already shown promise in mice — but monkeys are a much better model of how the medicines will work in humans.

All three of the vaccines were found to be safe and protected the monkeys against infection with the virus, according to the report published in Science.

The urgency for a vaccine to protect against Zika infection has intensified as the virus spreads rapidly across Latin America and the Caribbean. This week an unprecedented travel advisory was given for southern Florida after more than a dozen people were diagnosed with Zika after being bitten by "homegrown" mosquitoes.

Zika virus is most dangerous to pregnant women, because it can cause severe birth defects in babies if they are infected in the womb. 

Click here for the full article. 

No comments: