In tests, vaccines against Zika are able to prevent infection of the fetus

Experiment was done with females of mice, that received the immunizantes able to protect the uterus of the animals; understand

Two vaccines against the Zika virus, which are capable of preventing the infection of the disease in fetuses have had their proven efficacies in tests performed on mice. The experiment is the result of studies by researchers at the Evandro Cagas Institute (IEC), of the Health Surveillance Secretariat of the Ministry of Health in Pará (Brazil), in partnership with other American institutions.

The results of the analysis were published this Thursday (13) in the American magazine "Cell", specialized in the subject. Research has shown that it is possible to make the Zika malformation syndromes do not reach the fetuses of animals, which may be a big step for science that hopes to make it happen in humans.

Since the end of 2015, Brazil has suffered from an epidemic of microcephaly, which was caused by the high rates of Zika virus infections. Pregnant women from all states were on the alert because, in addition to this condition, other developmental problems could also occur with infants of mothers who were infected during pregnancy.

Read also: Fight against dengue, Zika and chikungunya marks the World Health Day

Vaccines

In addition to the IEC, other institutions were involved in the project, with the participation of the University of Washington, the University of Texas and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the United States, and as a result, two different types of vaccines Of zika.

One of them is made from modified messenger RNA, developed by the company Moderna Therapeutics, and another fabricated by the live attenuated virus, developed in partnership between the IEC and the University of Texas.

The two specimens were applied in two groups of mouse females. A third group received a placebo instead of the vaccine. Then, they were conditioned to cross with males and the pregnant women were infected with the African strain of the Zika virus.

In the end, scientists found that the fetuses that received the experimental vaccines were not infected with the Zika virus, while those who received placebo were unable to become immune, causing many to die and others to be affected


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