NIH Is Testing A Potential Zika Vaccine In People

It contains genes that code for virus proteins

By Kate Baggaley | Published Aug 3, 2016 9:22 PM EDT

Health

A healthy volunteer receives the NIAID Zika virus investigational DNA vaccine as part of an early-stage trial to test the vaccine's safety and immunogenicity. This is the first administration of this vaccine in a human.

The National Institutes of Health announced today the start of a clinical trial to test out a vaccine to prevent the Zika virus in humans.

The new vaccine delivers genes, housed atop circular pieces of DNA called plasmids, that code for Zika virus proteins. The proteins will assemble into particles that resemble the virus (but can’t cause infection), inducing the body’s immune system to respond.

There are currently no vaccines or treatments for Zika, which causes mild or no symptoms in most people but can result in severe birth defects. Inovio Pharmaceuticals is also testing a potential vaccine this summer.

The NIH study will include at least 80 healthy volunteers, and focus on whether the vaccine is safe and able to trigger an immune response. If so (NIH expects to have results by the end of the year), the agency will begin a larger trial in countries where Zika is endemic.

Kate Baggaley

Kate Baggaley has been contributing regularly to Popular Science since 2017. She frequently covers nature, climate, and the COVID-19 pandemic, but has also reported on many other aspects of science, including space, paleontology, and health. She has a soft spot for birds, deep sea critters, and all kinds of gorgeous creepy crawlies.