Computer-designed vaccine elicits potent antibodies against RSV

A first-of-its-kind nanoparticle vaccine candidate for the respiratory syncytial virus has been designed in an international research effort. RSV is second only to malaria as a cause of infant mortality worldwide. The new vaccine elicits potent neutralizing antibodies against RSV in both mice and monkeys. The animal research findings, reported March 7 in the journal Cell, pave the way for human clinical trials. RSV infects nearly all children by the age of three. Infection typically causes mild symptoms but can be more serious in newborns, immunocompromised individuals and the elderly. In the United States, RSV is the leading cause of pneumonia in babies under a year old. According to the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, RSV is responsible for an estimated 64 million infections and causes 160,000 deaths globally each year. About 99 percent of RSV deaths occur in developing countries. After considerable research, several vaccine candidates are in preclinical or clinical testing. As yet no RSV vaccine is ready for use in disease prevention.