EXPERIMENTAL ZIKA VIRUS VACCINES SHOW PROMISE IN MONKEYS

Aug 05, 2016

By Jane Brown

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There are some encouraging results in the push to create a vaccine for the Zika virus.

Researchers say three experimental vaccines have protected monkeys against infection from the virus. One of the experimental treatments is expected to enter preliminary human trials this year.

Efforts to develop a vaccine began after a massive Zika outbreak last year in Brazil, which showed that infection of pregnant women can harm fetal brain development.

Meantime, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says aerial spraying in a Miami neighborhood does appear to be making a difference in the fight against the Zika virus.

Tom Frieden says an insecticide was used in a small area of the Wynwood section of Miami.

“We’re very encouraged by the initial results which showed a large proportion of the mosquitoes killed,” Frieden outlined.

He says they don’t need to spray a larger area since the mosquitoes that apparently transmitted Zika to more than a dozen people are contained to a 150 metre area.

Frieden says pregnant women in south Florida and across the country need to be vigilant about warding off mosquito bites.

Earlier this week, experts at the Public Health Agency of Canada warned pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy to avoid travel to south Florida because of the Zika virus.

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