WEST NILE VACCINE SHOWS DURABILITY AND EFFICACY

Hawaii Biotech announced that in a third study its West Nile vaccine protected 100 percent of test animals from both illness and death after six months when challenged with live West Nile Virus.

In contrast, 53 percent of the control animals died, and surviving control animals all showed signs of illness. Two previous studies, in which longer term durability was not assessed, also demonstrated 100 percent protection from both illness and death following live West Nile Virus challenge. An additional study examining protection at one year is underway.

The latest vaccine efficacy durability study was conducted in a well-validated model of human West Nile disease, the golden hamster, developed at the University of Texas Medical Branch.