The Chikungunya virus returns to plague India every year. In the past year, the Capital’s AIIMS alone tested around 900 samples of Chikungunya in the months of July and August.
While there is no commercial vaccine as of right now, researchers have developed the first vaccine of its kind for Chikungunya fever, made from an insect-specific virus that does not have any effect on people, making it safe and effective.
The vaccine, details of which were published in the journal Nature Medicine, produces a strong immune defence and completely protects mice and non-human primates from disease when exposed to the Chikungunya virus.
This vaccine offers efficient, safe and affordable protection against Chikungunya and builds the foundation for using viruses that only infect insects to develop vaccines against other insect-borne diseases.Scott Weaver, Professor, University of Texas Medical Branch