The first volunteers make experimental vaccinations against Zika virus.

Фото: Depositphotos

Virginia Bliss is one of the first to receive a new experimental vaccine for Zika virus at the Hope Clinic in Atlanta. She is one of a whole army of volunteers, on which doctors have high hopes in the joint fight against the virus.

80 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 35 have tested the safety of the Zika virus vaccine developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Animal tests show encouraging results. “With the vaccine, scientists were able to create strong antibodies against Zika in mice,” said Dr. Sri Edupuganti, director of the Hope Clinic. In addition, this study showed that 17 of 18 test monkeys were able to develop immunity from Zika after two doses of the vaccine.

For people, they will be given multiple doses of the vaccine over 20 weeks - two may not be enough. After each injection for a week, doctors monitor the body temperature of volunteers, monitor the possible occurrence of side effects (nausea, chills or pain), as well as skin reactions at the injection site.

The government hopes that by the end of 2016, it will be clear how safe the vaccine is. If everything goes well, I’m sure Edupuganti, we’ll begin the second phase of testing in Puerto Rico and Central America early next year, where the Zika virus is widespread.

Most of us may be perplexed about how people voluntarily allow themselves to inject poorly studied drugs, such as Zika vaccine, but Virginia is a real veteran in this field. Over the past 8 years, she has experienced vaccines against yellow fever, Ebola and meningococcal disease.

Money is not the main motivation here: volunteers receive only about $20 dollars an hour. “I really believe in medical research,” Bliss says. “It’s great that I can contribute to history.”

“Many of my friends and family were horrified,” she admits. “But I don’t feel any discomfort.” After all, these vaccines had already been tested on animals many times before they entered my body.”

Virginia Bliss is not a random person chosen for these studies; she was seriously involved in biology and works as a histologist at Atlanta's Yerkes National Primate Research Center. In addition, there is a more personal motivation. “I'm a mother, and I can only imagine how I would feel if my child was born with severe developmental disabilities due to illness,” she says. “So I am very proud to be able to help other mothers in the fight against this scourge.”

As expected, after several doses of the vaccine have been administered for 18-24 months, she will have to undergo regular clinical examinations.

The main distributor of the virus are mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, which mainly live in the tropics.

The main symptoms that persist during the period from 2 to 7 days are fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, and general malaise. Usually, the disease is mild and does not lead to death, but it is the most dangerous for pregnant women, since it can cause microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome in the fetus. Its connection with other neurological complications is also being studied.

Currently, the virus has pandemic status. There are no specific drugs or vaccines against Zika virus.

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