Australian scientists develop rapid-response vaccine platform for mosquito-borne diseases amid climate-driven spread

Australia: Researchers at the University of Queensland are creating a flexible vaccine platform using genetically modified mosquito-specific viruses, enabling a swift response to emerging mosquito-borne diseases as climate change expands insect habitats and disease spread.

Australian scientists are developing a vaccine platform that could be rapidly retooled against mosquito-borne diseases as climate change expands the insects’ range. The work builds on a technology already tested in animals and comes as Japanese encephalitis has moved into parts of Australia where it had not previously been seen. For animal health and human health alike, the commercial prize is a faster response to outbreaks that are becoming harder to contain.

Researchers at the University of Queensland say the ISVac system uses a mosquito-specific virus that has been genetically modified to produce particles that cannot infect humans or animals. In trials, the platform has already been used in vaccines for Japanese encephalitis in pigs and West Nile virus in crocodiles, according to the university.

Associate Professor Jody Peters said the next step could open a new route to protecting people against emerging threats. She pointed to the way warming conditions are expanding mosquito habitats and helping diseases spread into new regions.

That concern is rooted in events in 2022, when the World Health Organization reported 37 human cases of Japanese encephalitis in Australia, including three deaths, while the national health department confirmed the virus in piggeries across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. If the platform succeeds, the researchers say it could be adapted for dengue, Zika, yellow fever and West Nile virus.