Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Research begins into possibility of a vaccine for Zika virus

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 27 Jan, 2016 12:21 PM
    WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is beginning research into a possible vaccine for the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is suspected of causing an unusual birth defect as it spreads in Latin America.
     
    Don't expect protection anytime soon — vaccine development typically takes years.
     
    "This is not going to be overnight," Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said in an interview Tuesday.
     
    But there are vaccines in various stages of development for other viruses in the same family — dengue, West Nile and chikungunya — that offer a pattern for creating something similar against Zika, said Fauci, who directs NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
     
    NIH researchers have begun some initial work, and the agency also plans to boost funding to some Brazilian scientists to accelerate Zika-related research, he said.
     
    President Barack Obama met Tuesday with his senior health advisers, including Fauci, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Centers for Disease Control Director Thomas Frieden. The White House said Obama urged them to accelerate research into diagnostic tests, vaccines and therapeutic drugs, and work to inform Americans about the Zika virus and ways to protect against infection.
     
    The Zika virus, first discovered decades ago in Africa, was long thought to be more of a nuisance illness, with symptoms generally much milder than its cousin dengue. But amid a large Zika outbreak in Brazil, researchers began reporting an increase in a rare birth defect named microcephaly — babies born with abnormally small heads. While scientists try to prove if Zika is the cause, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised pregnant women to reconsider travel to Brazil and 21 other countries and territories with outbreaks.
     
    If a Zika vaccine eventually were developed, it's not clear how widely it would be used.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    In Michigan, A Group Of Schools Finds A Way To Fund The Gold Standard Of Concussion Testing

    In Michigan, A Group Of Schools Finds A Way To Fund The Gold Standard Of Concussion Testing
    His father, watching his son and his Birmingham Groves High School football team from the stands, remembers a little more.

    In Michigan, A Group Of Schools Finds A Way To Fund The Gold Standard Of Concussion Testing

    Surrey Police Seek Man Found In Wrong Home, Asleep In Bed Beside Female Resident

    Surrey Police Seek Man Found In Wrong Home, Asleep In Bed Beside Female Resident
    The man believed to be in his early 20s entered the home early Sunday and fell asleep sometime between 4:20 a.m. and 7:20 a.m.

    Surrey Police Seek Man Found In Wrong Home, Asleep In Bed Beside Female Resident

    Edmonton Boy, 13, Arrested In Deadly Mac's Holdups Cries In Court As Murder Charges Read

    Edmonton Boy, 13, Arrested In Deadly Mac's Holdups Cries In Court As Murder Charges Read
    A 13-year-old cried as he appeared briefly in youth court accused of  killing two convenience store clerks.

    Edmonton Boy, 13, Arrested In Deadly Mac's Holdups Cries In Court As Murder Charges Read

    Investigation Of Police Officer In Oland Murder Case Underway: Commission

    Michael Boudreau, an associate professor of criminology at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, said some tough questions have been raised about the investigation of Richard Oland's bludgeoning death in July 2011.

    Investigation Of Police Officer In Oland Murder Case Underway: Commission

    US Lifts Lifetime Ban On Blood Donations From Gay Men; Now Requires 12 Months Abstinence

    US Lifts Lifetime Ban On Blood Donations From Gay Men; Now Requires 12 Months Abstinence
    The three-decade-old U.S. ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men was formally lifted Monday, but major restrictions will continue to limit who can donate.

    US Lifts Lifetime Ban On Blood Donations From Gay Men; Now Requires 12 Months Abstinence

    Home Birth With Midwife No Riskier Than Hospital Birth For Low-Risk Women: Study

    Home Birth With Midwife No Riskier Than Hospital Birth For Low-Risk Women: Study
    TORONTO — For women with low-risk pregnancies, babies delivered at home with a midwife are at no greater risk of harm than those born in hospital with a midwife's assistance, an Ontario study has found.

    Home Birth With Midwife No Riskier Than Hospital Birth For Low-Risk Women: Study