A new vaccine has been developed to fight the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus that has threatened millions of people in Africa, Asia and Europe, and most recently in the Americas. The first human trial of this new vaccine made using virus-like particles was reported by The Lancet.

The chikungunya virus is transmitted to people by mosquito bites. Common symptoms of the virus include fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash.

Lead study author Dr. Julie Ledgerwood at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, USA, and colleagues started the first phase of the trial with 25 healthy American participants between the ages of 18 and 50 years. Each participant was given one of three different doses of the vaccine at the zero, four and 20 week mark.

The participants appeared to tolerate the vaccine quite well, with no serious side effects reported. The majority of participants appeared to have developed some level of neutralizing antibodies against the chikungunya virus after the first vaccination. After the second dose, all participants had developed a high level of antibodies.

“Eleven months after vaccination, antibody levels were comparable to those seen in people who had recovered after natural chikungunya infection, suggesting that the VLP vaccine could provide long-term protection against the virus. The vaccine also generated antibodies against multiple genotypes of the virus, suggesting that it could be effective against any strains of the virus,” said Dr. Ledgerwood in a statement.

Experts associated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are encouraging the development of this new vaccine in light of the chikungunya outbreaks, considering the disease’s burden on up to 63 percent of local populations.