Zika Virus Clone to Speed Up Vaccine, Scientists Say

Scientists have succeeded in creating a clone for the Zika virus, and this could help speed up the development of vaccines and therapeutics against the virus, research says.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which is also known to be sexually transmitted, has spread throughout Latin America in the recent months. It has caused an increase in cases of microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

Scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston said that they were able to genetically engineer the Zika virus, which makes it possible to create the virus in test tubes and on Petri dishes.

According to lead author of the study Pei-Yong Shi, the man-made Zika could help them study and adapt the virus to develop a vaccine to fight it. It could also be used to test whether or not the vaccines are effective.

During research, the cloned virus was tested on mice, and this gave them neurological diseases. The team also fed mosquitoes with either the parental Zika virus and the clone virus and found that the number of infected mosquitoes were similar.

Researchers claim that by adapting the virus, they could make a safe vaccine enough to make the body ward off the infection without actually causing the disease.

Experts hope that that a candidate will be ready for testing in the coming months. However, it could be years before there can be a safe and effective vaccine that can be offered to the general public.

While several groups of scientists are working on Zika vaccines, this is the first time the actual Zika strain was replicated.

The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has created a trial vaccine for similar viruses that can be used as a starting point in developing a Zika vaccine. Likewise, the Jenner Institute has already conducted tests with mice and is planning to hold clinical trials in 2017.