Zika : a candidate vaccine raises hope

Moises Castillo/AP/SIPA

Published the 05.10.2017 at 16h53

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zikavaccin

A vaccine against the virus Zika tested in a quarantine of the people gives hope. Presented in the New England Journal of Medicine, the work of the university of Pennsylvania (United States) show that the injection of 3 doses of this vaccine-based viral DNA is well tolerated, and generates the production of antibodies against the virus.

“The virus Zika is always a threat to the inhabitants of the Americas and the Caribbean, stressed the Pr Pablo Tebas, a specialist in infectious diseases at the university of Penn. These new results are one more step that we can expect to find a way to prevent this infection, which can cause serious birth defects and developmental delays in babies born to infected mothers. “

Three injections in three months

The research team tested the effectiveness and tolerability of two different concentrations (1 and 2 mg) in two groups of 20 people. More than 60 % of the volunteers were women. The injections were spread over 12 weeks.

In parallel, blood samples have been carried out for over a year every 4 to 6 weeks approximately. These samples have allowed researchers to measure the immune response elicited by the vaccine. In other words, the amount of antibody synthesized by the body.