Early symptoms include headaches and fever, but it can get a lot worse
A vaccine for the deadly Nipah virus, which has the potential to cause a pandemic, could reach patients sooner thanks to scientists at the University of Oxford.
The university’s jab for the Nipah virus has received backing from the European Medicines Agency’s Prime scheme. This initiative aims to speed up the delivery of treatments to patients by fostering earlier and closer ties with regulators.
The World Health Organisation recognises Nipah as a research priority due to its pandemic potential.
The virus can be fatal in up to 85% of cases, initially causing symptoms such as fever, headaches, pain, vomiting and a sore throat, but later leading to lethal brain swelling.
Nipah can spread to humans from animals like bats or pigs, contaminated food, or directly from human to human.
The University of Oxford is currently conducting phase one testing on its Nipah jab following promising early results. It is the first UK academic institution to gain access to the EMA’s Prime scheme.
Oxford stated that the additional support provided by Prime “has been granted on the basis of compelling preclinical data and preliminary clinical evidence, and will help to accelerate the development and regulatory approval” of the vaccine.
In its letter of confirmation to Oxford investigators, the EMA said: “Nipah virus disease in humans is associated with significant morbidity and a high mortality rate and consequent public health impact.”
Reports are suggesting that the increase in human contact with fruit bats coupled with their incursion into densely populated areas is amplifying the threat of Nipah virus outbreaks.
Professor Brian Angus, chief investigator of the Oxford Nipah Vaccine Programme at the Oxford Vaccine Group, welcomed the development, saying: “This targeted regulatory support for our vaccine programme is a huge boost to the search for a solution to Nipah virus outbreaks.”
He also expressed optimism in vaccine research: “We are hopeful that the results of these trials will pave the way for us to be able to protect some of the populations most at risk, while also helping the world avoid a future global pandemic.”
First identified during an epidemic among pig farmers in Malaysia in 1999, the Nipah virus has since become an ongoing concern.
It was similarly observed in Bangladesh in 2001 and has nefariously reared its head nearly every year since.
What’s more, traces of this dangerous pathogen have been detected in fruit bat species across various countries, stretching from Cambodia to Thailand.