Canadian scientist Gary Kobinger, part of a consortium
working on the vaccine, told Reuters in an interview that the first stage of
testing on humans could begin as early as August. If successful, that may allow
the vaccine to be used during a public health emergency, in October or
November.
"The first thing is to be ready for the worst,"
Kobinger, who helped develop a trial vaccine that was successful in fighting
Ebola in Guinea, said. "This vaccine is easy to produce. It could be
cranked to very high levels in a really short time." He did not say when
it could be widely available.
The U.S. has two potential candidates for a Zika vaccine and
may begin clinical trials in people by the end of this year, but there will not
be a widely available vaccine for several years, U.S. officials said on
Thursday.
The mosquito-transmitted virus has been linked to brain
damage in thousands of babies in Brazil. There is no proven vaccine or
treatment for Zika, a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya, which causes mild
fever and rash. An estimated 80% of people infected have no symptoms, making it
difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization said on Thursday
that Zika is spreading "explosively" and could affect as many as four
million people in the Americas. Kobinger, the lead scientist on this project
from Quebec City's Laval University and head of special pathogens at Canada's
National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, is working with the University of
Pennsylvania, led by scientist David Weiner, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and South
Korea's GeneOne Life Science.
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