Mice Zika trials hope

A TEAM of international scientists believe they’ve moved a step closer to developing a vaccine to protect people from the Zika virus.

Following successful trials on mice, the team of scientists from Brazil and the US were reported, in newspapers such as The Guardian and The Express, to have found two potential vaccines that could help combat the Zika virus

In laboratory tests, a single shot of each vaccine was shown to completely protect mice against two strains of the mosquito-borne disease.

While these shots still need to be tested on humans, researchers are hopeful they could eventually prove to be a safe and effective Zika vaccine.

The team, led by Dr Dan Barouch of Harvard Medical School, has dubbed the breakthrough as “striking”.

The researchers tested two types of vaccine on mice with Zika symptoms – one made from DNA and the other from the virus – with both showing success.

The results stated how the vaccines created antibodies in the mice, which prevented them from being infected for at least two months.

“These two vaccine candidates both provided complete protection against Zika virus challenge in mice,” said Barouch. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of Zika virus vaccine protection in an animal model.”

LEST WE FORGET: Actors dressed in World War 1 army fatigues stand in silence near Waterloo Station, in London, yesterday. They are part of the activities commemorating the start of the Battle of The Somme.