Scientists have made a major breakthrough in developing a new vaccine against hepatitis C, a dangerous and contagious virus that can cause cancer and liver failure.
Unlike with variants hepatitis A or B, patients with hepatitis C are unable to fight off the virus themselves because it simply mutates into a more potent form each time it is attacked by the immune system.
While most vaccines are made from a weakened or dead form of the virus, the risk of cancer makes it too dangerous to try dosing people with hepatitis C.
Instead, French researchers created virus-like particles – similar enough to the virus to trigger an immune response but lacking the genetic material required to multiply and spread – which they have so far tested successfully on lab mice and monkeys, reports the new study published yesterday (August 3) in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
"Once injected into the body, the virus-like particles have the capacity to trigger neutralizing antibodies that could protect a person if they are exposed to the virus," explained the study authors in a statement.
The next step is to begin human trials; however, experts warn there’s no guarantee the vaccine will work on humans, since animal tests are not always a foolproof indicator.