Development of a novel vaccine for Zika
The rapid spread of Zika virus worldwide and its association with abnormal fetal brain development has made the need for an effective vaccine clear. Controlling the mosquito vector and protecting people against mosquito bites have been the main means of defending against Zika virus infections. The viral vector vaccine technology developed by GeoVax uses a highly potent, safe, and replication-deficient viral vector (Modified Vaccinia Ankara, MVA) to express vaccine antigens in the recipient's cells. It has previously been used to develop vaccine candidates for HIV and Ebola virus. The vaccine, from GeoVax Labs, Inc. in Atlanta, Ga., was tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Ft. Collins, Colo., with funding by a grant from the CDC. In the presented study, outbred immunocompetent mice were exposed to a lethal challenge dose of Zika virus delivered directly into the brain. "A single dose of GeoVax's NS1 vaccine candidate protected 100% of vacc...