Human trials of Army-developed Zika vaccine begin

THE 1st phase of clinical trials of a Zika virus vaccine has begun among 75 healthy adults at the Clinical Trial Center of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States of America.
The trial is designed to test safety and immunogenicity of the purified, inactivated Zika virus vaccine called ZPIV, developed earlier this year.

Efficacy refers to the vaccine’s ability to demonstrate a health effect when tested in a clinical trial.

Army Colonel (Dr.) Nelson Michael, director of WRAIR’s Military HIV Research Programme, MHRP, and Zika programme co-lead, said it was all done in 10 months.

Zika infections without symptoms can also lead to severe birth defects and neurological complications. A safe and effective Zika vaccine that prevents infection in those at risk is a global public-health priority."

 “The Army has moved efficiently from recognizing Zika virus as a threat, producing ZPIV for use in animals and demonstrating its effectiveness in mice and monkeys, producing ZPIV for human testing, and now initiating clinical trials to establish its safety and build the case for subsequent efficacy trials,

Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, Zika programme co-lead and associate director for emerging infectious disease threats at WRAIR’s MHRP, said the Army was able to move so quickly in developing, manufacturing and testing a Zika vaccine “because of its extensive experience with this vaccine platform and longstanding investments in the understanding and mitigation of flaviviruses like yellow fever, dating back to the founding of WRAIR.”

WRAIR officials say this study is part of the Defense Department response to the ongoing Zika outbreak in North and South America and Southeast Asia.

For service members, there are concerns about infection during deployment and travel, but also in the continental United States, where most military installations are concentrated in southern states. There, climate conditions and mosquito populations favor Zika transmission, WRAIR officials say.

Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito -- Aedes aegypti,  and Aedes albopictus. The same mosquitoes spread dengue and chikungunya viruses.

As of Nov. 2, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said149 cases of Zika infection were confirmed in the military health system, including four pregnant service members and one pregnant family member.

Zika infection during pregnancy, CDC says, can cause a birth defect of the brain called microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects.