A phase 1 randomized clinical trial of a novel Nipah virus vaccine is leading to hope that there could soon be a way to prevent infection.
The study found that the shots were safe and generated an immune response, according to a study published Dec. 13 in The Lancet.
The World Health Organization has listed Nipah virus, found mostly in southeast Asia, as a high-priority pathogen, because it kills up to 82% of people who are infected and there are no approved treatments or vaccines to prevent it.
The findings represent a “milestone” in the development of Nipah vaccines, according to an accompanying editorial in The Lancet written by Pragya D. Yadav, PhD, and Rima R. Sahay, MD, of the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology in Uttar Pradesh, India.
Stimulating the immune system
In the study, two doses of the experimental vaccine produced a strong immune response, with a higher dose of the vaccine stimulating the best immune system response. People given two doses produced antibodies within a month of vaccination, according to the study, which tested the experimental vaccine against a placebo in 192 healthy adults ages 18 to 49. People given only one dose of the vaccine had a weak immune response.
The most common adverse event related to vaccination was pain in the arm. There were no hospitalizations or deaths reported in people who received the vaccine.
Nipah, which was first identified in 1999, causes annual outbreaks. Although some infections don’t cause symptoms, the virus can cause fever and breathing problems, as well as encephalitis, or brain inflammation. The virus, which is mainly spread by fruit bats, has the potential to cause pandemics, because it can sometimes spread from person to person, according to the accompanying editorial in The Lancet.
In their editorial, Yadav and Sahay said the new vaccine should be tested in a larger, phase 2 trial, which could shed more light on safety, as well as how much protection the vaccine might provide.
