New vaccine for measles to eliminate the use of syringe
POSTED May 7, 2010 - 14:04 | POSTED BY neha gupta
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on May 7, 2010 - 14:09
Lead researcher Professor Robert Sievers, of the University of Colorado, in the United States, said: “One of our primary goals of this project is to get rid of needles and syringes, because they frighten some people, they hurt, they can transmit diseases and there are issues with needle disposal.”
He said the new vaccine would be particularly useful in poorer countries, for example in India, where two thirds of all measles deaths occur.
“It's not just that needles are scary to some, but they also have the potential to become disease transmitters in poor countries when people reuse them,” he added.
It took 5 years to develop the vaccine which requires the users to inhale a deep breath from a bag of powder.
Vaccine requires inhaling from a bag
The vaccine contains a mixture of liquid carbon dioxide and a weakened measles virus, all in the form of inhalable powder.
The powder, which enters the user’s mouth through a narrow opening in a cylindrical plastic bag, is dried with the help of microscopic bubbles and droplets.
The powder then goes straight to the lungs of the patient and blocks any measles attacks, which commonly occur through the respiratory attack.
Clinical trials of the vaccine to be done in India
Phase 1 of the first human trials on the low cost treatment would soon begin in Pune, initially targeting 200 patients.
The vaccine would cost around 10 cents for the device and another 17 cents per dose.
It is hoped that the “bag vaccine”, if successful, would pave way for similar vaccines against diseases like tuberculosis and human papilloma, a sexually transmitted virus that leads to cervical cancer.
It would be highly beneficial for poor countries like India and Africa.
"With every new vaccine that comes along, there has to be a learning period when manufacturers try to make it less expensively and recoup their costs in research and development," said Sievers.
"But if we could make a treatment [for the human papilloma virus] in an easy-to-deliver form and at a lot lower cost, there would be a lot interest in that. It costs more than $300 and that's out of the question for a large percentage of poor villagers in Africa or India."
