Zika vaccine goes to trial, but governmental and medical challenges abound

The effort to contain the Zika virus in North America could see a much-needed boost in the near future. Human-based vaccine trials could start within weeks, the drug’s developer announced.

U.S.-based company Inovio Pharmaceuticals partnered with South Korean GeneOne Life Science to create the vaccine, which Inovio says U.S. officials approved June 20. According to Reuters, 40 healthy people will receive a dose of the vaccine, called GLS-5700, to see how their bodies respond. Inovio plans to report on their findings later in the year.

Other drug companies are also working on vaccines and other drug responses—Reuters said French Sanofi SA and Indian Bharat Biotech are looking for their own preventative solutions. (The two companies also teamed up to create an Ebola vaccine currently in trials.) And Hologic announced June 20 that their Aptima Zika test was approved by the FDA for emergency use in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. The molecular test can be performed in-vitro to detect the virus in human blood.

Those innovations could be a boon for patients and public health officials alike. Beyond the South and Central American cases, the CDC says three babies have already been born in the U.S. with birth defects related to Zika. Three other pregnancies have been lost or terminated to the disease, and 234 other pregnant women in the country are confirmed to have the virus. Up to 13 percent of those women could pass on complications related to the infection.

At a meeting at the United Nations June 20, experts warned there are still a lot of unknowns about Zika and that the mosquito-borne virus could soon spread to Africa.

UN special health advisor David Nabarro, MD, told assembled global health experts, "It is my analysis that we're at the beginning of a really challenging new outbreak with probably substantial impacts that are not fully understood by the world as a whole, even by those who are experts in bio-medical research," ABC News reported.

Politico reported that some experts say the disease could cost billions of dollars along the Gulf Coast, the U.S. region in which the Zika-transmitting Ae. aegypti mosquito is most common. That’s because the CDC says the cost of lifelong care for one person born with microcephaly is $10 million.

Despite this uncertainty, the CDC has issued preliminary steps state and local public health officials can take to handle Zika, including controlling mosquito populations and increasing communication with vulnerable communities.

The agency issued its own interim response plans June 14. The plans include instructions for defining a Zika outbreak area, communicating risks and responses to the communities it affects, controlling mosquitos, dealing with Zika-infected pregnancies and the birth defects that result and maintaining a Zika-free blood supply.

The document explains the CDC wants to have a plan in place for future local outbreaks, but that the steps outlined could also be adapted for sexually transmitted or travel-transmitted incidences.

In its early stages, the plan deals with determining the source of any new infections. Then, it outlines steps for containing the Ae. aegypti mosquito population, providing support and education to pregnant women and “facilitating outreach” to the healthcare community so those professionals can best care for their patients.

But it also prescribes steps for if or when Zika transmission becomes epidemic throughout multiple locations in the U.S., including preparing to deal with a large number of babies born with Zika-induced birth defects such as microcephaly and the long-term care that the entire population could need throughout their lifetimes.

For many possible Zika occurrences, the plan includes instructions for local governments, healthcare providers and the public, and explains the CDC’s commitments that go with those instructions.

But some experts say that’s not enough. They want the government to provide Zika researchers with more money, so they can focus on gathering info to fight both the disease and any potential outbreaks.

The Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor, Peter Hotez, told Politico that it’s possible Zika is already spreading naturally in the southern U.S., but their public health departments are not robust enough to realize.

"There are some counties in Texas, Louisiana and elsewhere—the entire county's mosquito control district is a guy with a backpack. Or as we say, Chuck in the truck,” he said. "And Chuck in the truck is not going to be able to control aegypti."

The Obama administration has asked for $1.9 billion to address the crisis, but Congress has yet to approve such spending, though many senators and representatives say they know the approaching summer season requires quick decision-making.

The Atlantic reported lawmakers met at a short meeting to discuss Zika funding June 15, but came away with no resolutions. Some, mostly Republicans, want to use leftover money from Ebola appropriations to fund a smaller response and protect against overspending. Most Democrats want to forgo financial offsets, and act quickly to appropriate the money as emergency spending.

According to the Atlantic, CDC Director Tom Frieden tried to motivate lawmakers to reach a deal.

“Mosquitos don’t know when the fiscal year ends,” he said.