To eliminate polio once and for all, we need a fresh vaccine – what we are working on

In addition to the last explosions of polio in War torn regions The world is a deadly virus close to eliminationthanks to vaccines.

All vaccines work by training our immune systems to recognize a harmless piece of virus or bacteria, so that when the real thing is encountered later, the immune system is prepared to overcome it.

There are two types of polio vaccines. One of them is the inactivated virus vaccine (IPV), and the second vaccine of the oral polo-uhaluru (OPV).

IPV is produced by “killing” enormous amounts of polio -chemicals called formalin, which makes it a repeat. The immune system is then “trained” to recognize polio -rusa – which fortunately is sheltered by formalin.

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The OPV vaccine contains a weakened (or weakened “) version of the virus. These changes in the genetic code of the virus stop it from causing the disease. However, because the OPV vaccine is still capable of repeating, it can return to a form that can cause disease, with the potential of causing paralysis in unvaccinated people.

Due to these threats, scientists are now looking for safer ways to create-method vaccines that do not require a enormous amount of live virus in a high safety level laboratories, as IPV applies.

Our research team has He took an important step towards the production of a safer and cheaper polio vaccine. This fresh vaccine candidate uses particles similar to the virus (VLP). These particles imitate the outer protein coating of the polio, but they are empty inside. This means that there is no risk of infection, but VLP is still recognized by the immune system, which then protects against the disease.

This vaccine candidate uses technology that is already used in virus B and human papillomavirus (HPV). Thanks to VLPS, from 2008 there were no cases of cervical cancer in Women in Scotland who were fully vaccinated against HPV. Over the past ten years, our research group has worked on the apply of this successful technology in the fight to eliminate polio.

Vaccine success

In the nineteenth and twentieth century, Polio was the main global childhood health care. However, the IPV (licensed in 1955) and OPV (licensed in 1963) almost eliminated paralysis from polio. Due to success Global polio control initiativeIntroduced in 1988, most of the paralytic polio cases are currently caused by the vaccine.

Despite the success of these vaccines, both have safety concerns that could threaten to eliminate the disease.

For example, IPV is Expensive Because it requires strict security measures to prevent accidental release of virus virus live, and therefore it is mainly used in prosperous countries. OPV is Five times cheaper than IPV, and due to its lower cost and ease of apply, it is used almost exclusively in developing countries.

OPV played a key role in the almost elimination of “wild polio” (naturally occurring form) around the world. But in areas where vaccination indicators are low and enough people are susceptible to infection, a weakened virus (OPV) can be repeated.

Unfortunately, each replication round increases the potential of the virus return to the polio form, which causes disease and paralysis. This is already observable in New epidemics from the vaccine in several African countries, Asia and the Middle East, which now include Most paralytic cases of polio around the world. So, when all the other wild -wirus is effectively eliminated, the apply of OPV will have to stop.

Safer vaccine

The fresh generation of polio vaccination will probably be produced in yeast or insects cells. Our research shows It is VLP produced in both yeast and insect cells can work evenly or better than the current IPV.

These non -infective VLP are also easier to produce than IPV. They would not have to be served in such harsh laboratory conditions as IPV, and there are more stable temperatures, thanks to the genetic change of the outer coating. The fresh vaccines will therefore be cheaper to produce than IPV, helping to improve the fair and equal access to vaccinations – ensuring that after eliminating the polio will remain upset.

When we are approaching polio destruction around the world, these fresh generation vaccines can be the final tool that we need-secure, inexpensive and available to everyone.