In a new report, Scientists are currently attempting to develop “contagious vaccines” that would spread from the vaccinated to the unvaccinated.
Around the world, researchers are working on a vaccine that not only fights disease but is also contagious. Scientists believe that developing a contagious vaccine could aid in the prevention of animal-caused pandemics. Some experts, however, believe that introducing a self-spreading vaccine is not only contentious but also potentially dangerous.
Researchers are developing genetically engineered viruses that can spread from one animal to another, which will provide immunity to the disease.
Newsbreak report says, “The idea is that instead of a vaccine staying in one person’s body, the vaccine itself would infect them in such a way that they could pass on vaccination to others around them, much as they would otherwise pass on a disease. Scientists could vaccinate one person or animal in a community, and the vaccination would spread to those around them.”
According to National Geographic:
Scientists are working on contagious vaccines for the extremely deadly Ebola virus, bovine tuberculosis, and Lassa fever. All three are zoonotic diseases – which are infectious diseases that are naturally transmissible from animals to humans.
Scientists believe they could expand the development of self-disseminating vaccines to other zoonoses such as rabies, West Nile virus, Lyme disease, and the plague.
The World Health Organization states, “Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral or parasitic, or may involve unconventional agents and can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water or the environment, they represent a major public health problem around the world due to our close relationship with animals in agriculture, as companions and in the natural environment. Zoonoses can also cause disruptions in the production and trade of animal products for food and other uses.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes, “Zoonotic diseases are caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacterial, parasites, and fungi. These germs can cause many different types of illnesses in people and animals, ranging from mild to serious illness and even death. Animals can sometimes appear healthy even when they are carrying germs that can make people sick, depending on the zoonotic disease.”
The CDC says that 60% of all known infectious diseases and 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic.
So far, no one has conducted any field or laboratory studies assessing the impact and safety of these vaccines delivered via the self-spreading mechanism. However, a recent mathematical modeling study reported that if it works as expected, releasing the Lassa fever vaccine could reduce disease transmission among rodents by 95 percent in less than a year, National Geographic reported.
Sources: Thegatewaypundit, Newsbreak, Cdc.gov, Who.int, Nationalgeographic