The first effective and safe vaccine against Chikungunya fever has been developed by scientists from the University of Texas.

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The prophylaxis can boost the immune system of non-human primates and mice, and protect them from the viral disease. Senior author of the study, Scott Weaver, said that "the vaccine offers efficient, safe and affordable protection against Chikungunya and builds the foundation for using viruses that only infect insects to develop vaccines against other insect-borne diseases."

The vaccines available in the market today include live-attenuated and inactivated pathogens. Both are effective but come with downsides. In the case of live-attenuated vaccines, safety may be questioned especially if introduced to an individual with a compromised immune system. On the other hand, inactivated vaccines are more costly despite being safe as it requires a series of booster shots to be effective.

With the developed Chikungunya prophylaxis, scientists used the Eilat virus as a platform due to its unique predilection for insects only. Researchers sought to produce a hybrid virus-based prophylaxis that will carry the structural proteins of the CHIKV. Hence, the virus will only multiply in the cells of mosquitoes but not of mammals.

The study revealed that a single dose of the prophylaxis four days after its introduction could trigger antibodies which can last for over 290 days. This provides complete protection against the Alphavirus in both mice and non-human primates.

The Chikungunya virus is transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes to humans. Patients suffering from the disease will experience fever, headaches, muscle pain, severe joint pain especially in the feet and hands and rash. The joint pains can last for several years in some cases. Although rare, mortality is also possible.

The study was published in the journal of Nature Medicine.