Researchers Develop Vaccine for Chikungunya fever

Researchers Develop Vaccine for Chikungunya fever A team of researchers from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a safe and effective vaccine for Chikungunya fever made from an insect-specific virus. The research team at The University of Texas Medical Branch used the Eilat virus as a vaccine platform. The Eilat virus only infects insects and has no effect on people. An Eilat

virus clone was used to design a hybrid virus-based vaccine containing Chikungunya structural proteins.

The researchers tested the safety and efficacy of the newly developed Chikungunya virus in mice and non-human primates. The researchers found that the vaccine strengthened the immune system and protected mice and non-human primates from disease when exposed to the Chikungunya virus. The tests showed that a single dose of Chikungunya vaccine induced neutralized the antibodies within four days. The efficacy of the vaccine lasted for more than 290 days. The vaccine was found to provide complete protection against the Chikungunya virus in two different mouse models. However, in the non-human primates, there was neither evidence of the virus in the blood nor symptoms of Chikungunya.  Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne disease that causes fever and joint pain. Some of the other symptoms of Chikungunya include fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and rash. Some individuals may recover within a week, but many develop long-term joint pain.