Scientists make progress on norovirus vaccine

Scientists make progress on norovirus vaccine


Norovirus is a common infection known for striking the gastrointestinal tract and causing a host of uncomfortable symptoms. Now, scientists are getting closer to a vaccine to stop it.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a vaccine that piggybacks on effective vaccines for rotavirus, an unrelated pathogen that also causes diarrhea. The new norovirus-rotavirus combination vaccine works by adding a crucial norovirus protein to a harmless strain of rotavirus. In mouse studies, the vaccine was shown to be highly effective at producing antibodies that neutralize both viruses.

That’s potentially good news for the hundreds of millions of people around the world who are stricken with norovirus each year, including the 50,000 children who die from the infection. It’s also a major scientific achievement: Norovirus is hard to study in the lab and effective vaccines and drugs have been elusive.

Most everyone has had a bout of norovirus, which is typically spread through personal contact or contaminated food or water. In developed countries, it typically means three to four days of gastrointestinal distress.

The researchers gave the vaccine to mice orally. After nine weeks and a booster dose, 82% of the mice had a strong antibody presence in their blood and all of them had a strong antibody response in the intestines. Those same antibodies were able to neutralize the virus under lab conditions that mimic the human gut.

That’s potentially good news for people in close quarters like cruise ships or nursing homes. A dose of vaccine would surely beat three days — or more — of intestinal distress.

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