newsare.net
If ever there were proof that humans are animals too, it’s in the diseases that we share with other species. From rabies and Zika to Ebola and bird flu, many deadly diseases around the world can pass between animals and people. Currently, we have three optiWorld's first vaccine suitable for both humans and livestock?
If ever there were proof that humans are animals too, it’s in the diseases that we share with other species. From rabies and Zika to Ebola and bird flu, many deadly diseases around the world can pass between animals and people. Currently, we have three options when trying to protect people from such zoonotic diseases. We can vaccinate the animals that can pass them on, the humans that can contract them, or take steps to help the two avoid contact. But what if there were a simple, inexpensive way to protect both people and other species at the same time, using the same vaccine? This was my starting point when I decided to investigate the possibility of a single cross-species vaccine for Rift Valley Fever, one of the World Health Organisation’s priority diseases. Since emerging in Kenya in 1930, the mosquito-borne disease has spread to many African countries and the Arabian Peninsula, causing disease outbreaks that have affected millions of livestock and hundreds of thousands of humans. During such outbreaks, the disease kills more than 90% of young animals and causes nearly 100% of pregnant animals to abort their foetuses. This can destroy livelihoods in largely agricultural... Read more











