호주 의학계, 지카 바이러스 백신개발 중요한 이정표 도달 A potential vaccine for the Zika virus just passed a major milestone: It protected mice from getting sick

A potential vaccine for the Zika virus just passed a major milestone: It protected mice from getting sick

Aria Bendix 6 hours ago

Research scientist Dan Galperin holds vials marked "Zika" at Protein Sciences Inc., a biotech company working on a Zika vaccine. Thomson Reuters

There is no licensed vaccine that protects against Zika, a mosquito-borne virus that can result in birth defects.

Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia recently created a vaccine that can neutralize the virus in mice.

The experiment hasn't been replicated in humans yet, but it's showing early signs of promise.

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Panic unfurled across the Americas in early 2015, as the Zika virus spread.

호주 의학계, 지카 바이러스 백신개발 중요한 이정표 도달      세계보건기구는 2016년 2월 전염병에 대응해 국제비상사태를 선포했다. 그해 말 비상사태가 해제될 무렵에는 바이러스가 60개국에 전파되어 6개국에 걸쳐 성적으로 전염되었다(아르헨티나, 칠레, 프랑스, 이탈리아, 뉴질랜드, 미국). 그 위기는 과학자들 사이에서 바이러스를 막을 방법을 찾기 위한 경쟁을 유발했다. 그러나 지카에 대항해 보호하는 허가된 백신은 아직 없다. 하지만, 몇몇 고무적인 연구가 있다 호주 아델라이드대 연구진은 28일 과학진출 학술지에 발표한 논문에서 지카 감염으로부터 쥐를 성공적으로 보호한 실험 결과를 보고하고 있다. 연구자들에 따르면 이 실험은 아직 인간에게서 복제되지 않았지만, 백신은 초기 성공의 징후를 보여준다고 한다. 감염된 모기를 통해 사람에게 전염되는 지카 바이러스가 브라질에서 처음 발견됐다. 감염은 종종 아무런 증상도 일으키지 않지만 선천성 결함과 성인의 마비로 이어질 수 있는 희귀한 신경성 질환인 길랭-바레 증후군을 일으킬 수 있다. 그 바이러스는 또한 증상이 없더라도 파트너들 사이에서 성적으로 전염될 수 있다. 황기철 콘페이퍼 에디터 큐레이터 Ki Chul Hwang, conpaper editor, curator

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The World Health Organization declared an international emergency in response to the epidemic in February 2016. By the time the emergency lifted at the end of that year, the virus had spread to 60 countries and been sexually transmitted in six (Argentina, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, and the US).

The crisis has generated a race among scientists to find a way to ward off the virus. But there is still no licensed vaccine that protects against Zika.

There is, however, some encouraging research. 

In a paper published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday, researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia report the results of an experiment that successfully protected mice against Zika infections. The experiment hasn't been replicated in humans yet, but the vaccine shows early signs of promise, according to the researchers.

A health worker sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 26, 2016. Leo

A DNA vaccine could protect people from future outbreaks

The Zika virus, which is transferred to humans through infected mosquitoes, was first detected in Brazil. Infections often cause no symptoms, but they can result in birth defects and Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that can lead to paralysis in adults.

The virus can also be sexually transmitted between partners even if symptoms aren't present. 

When a person contracts Zika, their antibodies try to fight off the infection by attacking the virus' envelope, which shields it from our immune defenses.

Many Zika vaccine trials have targeted this envelope, but preliminary studies suggest that approach could wind up making a person more vulnerable to similar viruses, such as dengue, in the future. 

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