Media Availability: NIH Scientists and Colleagues Successfully Test MERS Vaccine in Monkeys and Camels

Media Availability: NIH Scientists and Colleagues Successfully Test MERS Vaccine in Monkeys and Camels

NIH Scientists and Colleagues Successfully Test MERS Vaccine in Monkeys and Camels

NIH scientists and colleagues report that an experimental vaccine given six weeks before exposure to Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) fully protects rhesus macaques from disease. The vaccine also generated potentially protective MERS-CoV antibodies in blood drawn from vaccinated camels. The research team developed the investigational MERS vaccine by learning from previous vaccine studies of another coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome. Next, the group plans to explore how to condense the six-week timeframe to establish protection, and they are hopeful the vaccine will become a candidate for use in camels and people.

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