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New rabies treatment effective in mice

New rabies treatment effective in mice

Scientists from the University of Georgia, United States, developed a new treatment for rabies. Compared to common vaccines, the novel vaccine is able to cure mice longer after infection. The research is recently published in the Journal of Virology.

Rabies is caused by a viral infection and is usually transmitted by a bite of an animal such as a dog, bat or fox. If untreated, the disease is fatal in almost all cases. The rabies vaccine that is currently available is mainly used preventively. Co-author Biao He, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Georgia explains: “We use the same vaccine as a kind of treatment after a bite, but it only works if the virus hasn’t progressed too far.” After migration to the brain, no further treatment is possible.

The authors infected mice with a strain of the rabies virus that generally reaches the brain within three days. After six days, the mice began to exhibit the physical symptoms that indicate the infection has become fatal. Subsequently, they were treated with a vaccine, consisting of a rabies virus protein inserted in another virus which is harmless. Even after onset of physical symptoms, the researchers were able to cure rabies in 50 percent of the mice.

“This is the most effective treatment we have seen reported in scientific literature”, says He. “If we can translate these results to humans, we may have found one of the first useful treatments for advanced rabies infection.” Also, the authors emphasise that their vaccine is safer than the current treatment, because it is a harmless virus instead of a weakened pathogen. He observes: “In many parts of the world, there is an urgent need for rabies treatment. Ultimately, we want to try to save more lives.” Meanwhile, the authors continue to test their vaccine by moving into more advanced animal trials.

Source: Journal of Virology

MedZine writes twice per week about notable science.


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