2014年2月13日讯来自美国杜克大学的研究人员最近在华盛顿召开的the American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting上公布了其用于治疗西尼罗河病毒的鼻雾疫苗的早期研究结果。小鼠实验结果显示改种疫苗能够在两次免疫后对病毒起到免疫作用。来自杜克大学的研究人员将疫苗使用的抗原数由三个降低至两个。

西尼罗河病毒是一种通过蚊虫传播的疾病，能够引起包括脑部炎症在内的一系列并发症，有很大威胁性。此前该病主要分布在中东、非洲、欧洲等地。近年来北美地区也开始出现这一疾病的踪迹。然而目前医学界并没有一种专门用于预防西尼罗河病毒的疫苗。这也成为目前防止该病毒的当务之急。

详细英文报道：

Researchers at Duke University have shown in early tests that a nasal vaccine for West Nile Virus is effective in mice after two doses as opposed to the traditional three for other vaccines. There is currently no vaccine for the disease available for humans, despite its recent spread in the U.S. and Canada.

The nasal administration, presented at the American Society for Microbiology Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting in Washington, D.C., could offer a quick-hit solution to what has become a global issue. The mosquito-borne virus, which can cause inflammation of the brain among other symptoms, has been around in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Australia for decades, according to a release from the society, but has only in the last 15 years been reported in North America, affecting thousands and killing over 100 in 2013, the CDC says.

For the vaccine, the Duke researchers modified an existing experimental nasal formulation of antigens to cut the number of immunizations needed from three in three weeks to two over a period of two weeks.

In an animal study in which the scientists gave nose drops to mice, the two-dose vaccine protected all of the animals from death by the disease and significantly protected against weight loss associated with West Nile. A smaller dose had a similar effect but was not significant.

"Our results demonstrate that a needle-free (West Nile Virus) vaccine using only two vaccine doses is able to induce protective anti-(West Nile) immunity," researcher Herman Staats said in a statement. "A nasally-administered, needle-free vaccine able to rapidly induce protective immunity with minimal vaccine doses per subject would be beneficial for use during (West Nile Virus) outbreaks."