Drugs and vaccines being studied to stop measles

Research teams from several countries, coordinated by experts from Columbia University (New York, USA), have found a new way attack measles opening the door development new vaccines and antiviral drugs that could help combat the current trend of the spread of the disease. His work became known in scientific journal Science.

Measles is one of the most contagious viruses that they know each other. It can spread even if only a small portion of the population is not vaccinated. The virus causes rash, fever, upper respiratory symptoms and transient immunosuppression. “but deep,” these experts warn, it could also cause serious complicationsespecially in young children, pregnant women, and patients who are immunocompromised (a condition that weakens their immune system).

Over the past year, the incidence of measles in the world has increased 30 timesand it is a leading cause of death in children that is preventable through vaccines.

The current vaccine, which contains a weakened virus, is safe and highly effective. However, people with weakened immune systems cannot be vaccinated, so they are vulnerable to the disease unless 95% of the population they live among is vaccinated.

Matteo Porotto, a professor of molecular biology and virus specialist at Columbia University, said: “Misinformation about the vaccine has led many people to avoid it.and with the growing population of immunocompromised people who cannot be vaccinated, the virus has found a way to spread.

Other protein

Porotto’s team worked to develop a new measles vaccine whose mechanism of action does not require the use of a live virus to immunize these people.
To do this, they isolated specific components of the virus and created antibodies against other proteins important for its survival. These components will allow them to avoid using the entire virus, which will be safer for patients with weakened immune systems.

They thus identified a fusion protein that helps the virus enter and infect healthy cells. They also showed that antibodies targeting this fusion protein prevent the virus from penetrating the membrane that protects the cells.

Measles in the world, Europe and Spain

Since late 2022, an increase in the number of measles cases and outbreaks has been detected worldwide, which has continued to increase over the next two years and continues to this day.
In the European Union, 10,887 cases were reported from April 2023 to March 2024, of which 8,783 were confirmed.
The worst affected country is Romania (where 80.5% of cases are registered).

Spain has been in a situation of elimination of the disease since 2016, with a vaccination coverage of 90% of the population (with two doses) and 95% (with one dose). In 2023, there were 14 confirmed cases, and from January to June 2024, the number increased to 106. 21 outbreaks occurred in 11 autonomous communities.