Single round infection chikungunya virus as a new vaccine candidate

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

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Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an important etiologic agent of human disease. Recently, this virus has moved to Western hemisphere and has developed wide-spread epidemics on the Caribbean Islands with frequent introduction into US. Within one year, from 2013 to 2014, number of cases associated with local transmission increased from one to almost a million, suggesting that we are in the beginning of large outbreak in the New World. Typically, CHIKV causes a severe, self-limited disease characterized by fever, rash and excruciating joint pain. Moreover, the recent epidemics also suggested that CHIKV has become more virulent. Previous CHIKV transmission was associated with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, but in the recent years, Ae. albopictus became an equally important vector of CHIKV. This mosquito species is common in the US, and future wide spread of CHIKV appears to be just a matter of time. Despite their public health threat as emerging virus and potential for application as biological weapons, no licensed vaccines or therapeutic means have been developed against CHIKV infection. This research project is based on further development of the new concept in vaccine designing. It will result in generation of pseudoinactivated CHIKV (CHIK PIV), which produces only a single round infection in vivo. New CHIKV vaccine candidate will combine the efficiency of live vaccines and safety of inactivated or subunit ones.