Lyme disease vaccine may be available soon Axios reports.
Earlier this month, announced Moderna two latest candidates for the event of mRNA vaccines against Lyme disease.
Pfizer and Valneva additionally they have a vaccine candidate, VLA15, which is in late-stage clinical trials, but lots of their participants, including children as young as 5 years old, have been discontinued resulting from violations of Good Clinical Practice in the way in which third-party operators run their research sites.
Nevertheless, Pfizer and Valneva say they’ll still apply for Food and Drug Association approval as early as 2025.
Lyme disease is “probably the most common vector-borne disease in the US” with symptoms such as fever, chills, headaches, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and swollen lymph nodes or rashes, in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If left untreated, long-term symptoms may include facial nerve palsy, palpitations or irregular heartbeats, neuralgia, and encephalomyelitis.
There are concerns in regards to the increase in cases of Lyme disease, which has almost doubled since 1991, particularly resulting from climate change.
“Research provides evidence that climate change has helped to expand the range of ticks, increasing the potential risk of Lyme disease, for instance in areas of Canada where ticks were previously unable to survive.” in line with the Environmental Protection Agency. “The life cycle and prevalence of deer ticks are strongly temperature dependent.”
The agency explained: “Since tick activity is dependent upon temperatures above a certain minimum, shorter winters may also increase the period of tick activity annually, extending the time that individuals may be exposed to Lyme disease.”
The prolonged lifespan of ticks can turn Lyme disease from a summer problem right into a year-round problem.
“Untreated Lyme disease can be very serious,” said Leana Wen, an emergency medicine physician and professor at George Washington University Axios today. “Some people have debilitating symptoms that basically affect their lives.”
Greater than 20 years ago, in 2002, the one Lyme disease vaccine available, LYMERix, was withdrawn from the market and recalled by the manufacturer resulting from “insufficient consumer demand.” In line with the CDC.
Demand for the vaccine has reportedly decreased resulting from unwanted effects such as arthritis as well as general anti-vaccine sentiment, however the FDA has found “insufficient evidence to support a causal relationship” between the results and the vaccine, researchers said in Epidemiology and infections diary in 2007.
“Nevertheless, public perception of the potential risk, which was heavily influenced by negative press coverage and limited awareness of the vaccine’s advantages, reduced consumer demand for the vaccine,” the experts added on the time.
Done by SmithKline Beecham, the removal of LYMERix from the market left individuals with no alternatives apart from antibiotics, such as doxycycline, after a tick bite, and drugmakers wouldn’t create a latest vaccine due to potential market risk, Nadine Bowden of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases said axios.
“Is it value investing and risking?” Bowden asked.
Along with the vaccine, scientists are exploring other alternatives to guard against Lyme disease, including a human monoclonal antibody as pre-exposure prophylaxis for Lyme disease and more sensitive tests that take a look at the biomarkers released by the body when it has Lyme disease, as well as vaccinating mice in tick-infested areas in hopes of spreading immunity to the disease. only ticks.
Currently, probably the most effective solution to protect against Lyme disease is to make use of insect repellent and wear skin-covering clothing in areas with high tick populations, and to ascertain yourself for ticks.