Zika virus: Vaccines would be ready for large scale trials in 18 months – WHO

Luiza was born in October with a rare condition, known as microcephaly. Luiza's mother Angelica Pereira was infected with the Zika virus after a mosquito bite. Brazilian health authorities are convinced that Luiza's condition is related to the Zika virus that infected her mother during pregnancy. AP Photo/Felipe Dana — Luiza was born in October with a rare condition, known as microcephaly. Luiza’s mother Angelica Pereira was infected with the Zika virus after a mosquito bite. Brazilian health authorities are convinced that Luiza’s condition is related to the Zika virus that infected her mother during pregnancy. AP Photo/Felipe Dana

Efforts are ongoing to produce a vaccine that will combat the Zika virus which recently became a global concern.

The World Health Organisation, Friday, said large-scale trials for Zika virus vaccines are at least 18 months away.

An estimated 15 companies or groups have begun work on a vaccine for the previously obscure virus, WHO’s deputy director for health systems and innovation Marie-Paule Kieny told journalists.

There are currently two candidates which appear most promising, including one vaccine being developed by the US National Institutes of Health and another from India-based Bharat biotech, Kieny said.

“In spite of this encouraging landscape, vaccines are at least 18 months away from large-scale trials,” she added.

Meanwhile, Kieny said it would take an estimated “few weeks” to establish whether Zika causes microcephaly and the severe neurological disorder Guillain-Barre syndrome..