chikungunya vaccine induces robust antibody response

An experimental vaccine to prevent the mosquito-borne viral illness chikungunya elicited neutralising antibodies in all 25 adult volunteers who participated in a recent early-stage clinical trial conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. The results are reported in the current issue of The Lancet.

The most distinctive symptom of chikungunya infection is severe joint pain accompanied by headache and fever. There are currently no vaccines or specific drug treatments for chikungunya. First identified in East Africa in the early 1950s, chikungunya virus caused sporadic illness in Africa and large urban outbreaks in Thailand and India in the 1960s and 1970s. It first appeared in the Western Hemisphere in late 2013.

As of August 8, more than 570,000 confirmed or suspected cases had been reported throughout the Americas. In the continental United States, 484 cases have been reported as of August 5, and the first two locally acquired infections were detected in Florida in mid-July.

“The two species of mosquito that spread chikungunya virus are found in parts of the continental United States, so it may just be a matter of time before this illness gains a foothold here,” said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. “Therefore, it is prudent to begin addressing this emerging public health threat with the development of vaccines, such as this one, which was designed and tested by scientists from the NIAID Vaccine Research Center.”