New Delhi, Dec 23 || A phase 1 randomised clinical trial of a novel Nipah virus vaccine, led by US researchers, may soon pave the way to prevent the deadly infection.
All three doses and regimens of the vaccine named HeV-sG-V demonstrated to be safe and generated an immune response, according to the researchers in the study published in the journal The Lancet.
"The induction of antibodies within 1 month of vaccination, along with the persistence afforded by two dosages, suggests the vaccine candidate has potential for reactive outbreak control and preventive use," said the team from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC).
First discovered in 1999 in Malaysia, Nipah virus (NiV) causes yearly outbreaks throughout south and southeast Asia, especially in India, with associated mortality rates of 40–75 per cent.
The World Health Organization has listed the Nipah virus as a high-priority pathogen because it kills up to 82 per cent of people who are infected, and there are no approved treatments or vaccines to prevent it.