University of Oxford launches world's first Phase II Nipah virus vaccine trial

Nipah virus is a deadly zoonotic disease with a case fatality rate of up to 75% and is listed by the World Health Organisation as a priority pathogen with pandemic potential for research and development

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THE University of Oxford has launched the world's first Phase II clinical trial of a Nipah virus vaccine candidate. The trial, conducted in Bangladesh in partnership with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), and funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), will assess the safety and immune response of the ChAd0x1 NipahB vaccine in a region where the virus causes recurrent outbreaks.

The trial started earlier this month, and will enrol 306 healthy participants aged 18 to 55.

Nipah virus is a deadly disease from the same viral family as measles, the paramyxoviruses, and is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a research priority due to its pandemic potential.

A vaccine is urgently needed as the disease can be fatal in up to 75% of cases.

First identified after an outbreak in Malaysia, Nipah virus causes small outbreaks in Bangladesh almost every year, and occasionally in India. Of the 750 cases recorded since 1998, there have been 415 deaths.

The zoonotic virus is carried by fruit bats and its main route of transmission is through drinking contaminated date palm sap. Humans may also be infected via an intermediate animal host, or by person-to-person spread including healthcare workers.