WASHINGTON // An experimental vaccine for Mers showed promising results in animal testing, sparking an immune system response that could lead to a vaccine for people, researchers said on Tuesday.
There are currently no licensed vaccines for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which first appeared in 2012 and has caused numerous scares including a recent deadly outbreak in South Korea.
Vaccinated mice produced antibodies that neutralised Mers strains, according to a study from the US national institute of allergy and infectious diseases.
The vaccines that caused the largest immune responses in mice were then administered to monkeys.
The monkeys were protected from a serious lung infection characteristic of Mers when given the experimental vaccines and then exposed to a version of the virus, the study said.
The study with the promising findings was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Researchers are now working on versions of the vaccine that could be tested in clinical trials for humans.
The Mers outbreak in South Korea in May infected some 180 people, killing 36 others.
The World Health Organisation has identified 1,368 cases since 2012 including 490 deaths, most of them in Saudi Arabia.
* Agence France-Presse
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Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.