Effectively testing the vaccine for Zika virus in monkeys

A mixture of 3 antibodies gave very good results in testing of Zika virus room in the monkey, promising to be tested soon in humans.

According to a new report published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the team has identified three very potent antibodies, SMZAb1, SMZAb2 and SMZAb5, taken from a patient in South America.

The mixture of these three antibodies was introduced into the bodies of four monkeys in the laboratory a day before the hosts exposed to Zika virus were taken from a pregnant woman.

The results showed that Zika virus was unable to develop and control the host body with the antibodies mentioned above.

Scientists do not see the significant existence of Zika virus in the blood samples of four hosts while their immune system is not activated either. This indicates that the virus has been completely "locked".

While another group of 4 hosts were infected with Zika virus, they did not receive a mixture of 3 antibodies that had been sick for 7 days.

According to Professor David Watkins from the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine (USA), this is an effective intervention to prevent and treat Zika virus infection during pregnancy.

The authors wish to develop this combined antibody and soon put it into human trials. Because antibodies are absolutely safe for humans and their babies, this method is expected to be developed soon to protect pregnant women and babies.

American health workers catch mosquitoes for research in northwestern Washington.(Source: AFP / VNA).

Meanwhile, the Zika vaccine developed by Inovio Pharmaceutical Group (USA) and Korea's Geneone Life Science Group has been very successful in the early stages of human trials.

Accordingly, the body of 40 healthy volunteers after being vaccinated with 3 doses of GLS-500 produces antibodies against Zika virus.

Voluntary blood samples were then introduced into the bodies of mice before they were exposed to Zika virus. The results showed that these mice were healthy while a group of other mice exposed to Zika without passing antibody blood died.

Unlike conventional vaccines that use disabled or dead viruses, the GLS-500 is a synthetic vaccine developed by reproducing certain parts of the Zika virus genome.

The study's lead author, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Pablo Tebas, said the genome-based synthesis technique produced very fast results, taking only about seven months after the vaccine was administered. first shaped until it is put into clinical trials.

More trials will be needed to confirm the effectiveness of this vaccine when used with humans.

In 2015 and 2016, Zika virus transmitted by mosquitoes has raged in countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and the southern United States, causing thousands of small head and head infections in newborns.

In February 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Zika to be a global emergency medical problem. In November, the WHO removed the emergency but warned that the virus could continue to spread and spread quickly wherever mosquitoes carry the disease.

Although the Zika epidemic is no longer endangered, scientists continue to work hard to research vaccines to prevent the disease, as well as to prevent microcephaly in the fetus and newborn.