Currently, there is no treatment for Zika, the virus that has become an epidemic throughout Latin America and infected over 100 Americans. But that could change soon.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says a vaccine could be ready for human testing in the next few months.
“We will have a vaccine ready to go into humans to test—not to distribute—but to test for safety and whether it induces a response that you can predict will be protective,” he said to the BBC. “That phase 1 trial I believe will likely start towards the end of the summer or early fall.”
The BBC points out, however, that if the incidence of the virus has begun to wane when the vaccine becomes ready, it may be difficult to obtain enough test subjects. There is also limited knowledge about flaviviruses (Zika’s genus of virus).
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