MIAMI: US health authorities Wednesday launched the second human trial of a vaccine against the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which can cause birth defects and is now spreading in the US and Latin America.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Zika virus investigational DNA vaccine will be given to 80 healthy volunteers aged 18-35 at three study sites in the United States, said the federal agency.
The first dose was delivered Tuesday, the NIAID said in a statement.
"A safe and effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection and the devastating birth defects it causes is a public health imperative," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci.
"Results in animal testing have been very encouraging. We are pleased that we are now able to proceed with this initial study in people."
Fauci, who has previously warned that any vaccine against Zika would take years to develop, described the trial's launch as "an important step forward."
The drug is a DNA vaccine that is similar to another experimental vaccine developed by NIAID against West Nile virus.
It cannot infect people with Zika, but is designed to make the body mount an immune response to Zika.
DNA vaccines "have been shown to be safe in previous clinical trials for other diseases," the NIAID statement said.
The first Zika vaccine trial got under way last month.
Led by Pennsylvania-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals, the phase 1 trial using a Zika DNA vaccine called GLS-5700 is being conducted in Quebec City, Canada, as well as Miami and Philadelphia.
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