Researchers are developing a new kind of treatment touted to be more effective than vaccines. Experts have created a single molecule said to be better at protecting people from infections like Ebola, dengue, influenza and herpes.
According to the study published in the journal Macromolecules, a new treatment is currently being developed to interrupt infection. It also disrupts majority of the viruses' replication process instead of building single-body antibody resistance.
The researchers, who are from Japan, Singapore and the IBM, created a big molecule that contains viruses and disrupts virus replication through altering its acidity level (pH). The molecule also uses a sugar called mannose to prevent the virus from infecting healthy cells, Popular Science wrote.
Mannose attaches itself to healthy immune cells and connects them nearer to the virus, making it easier for the infection to be cured. The team behind the study said the single molecule can stop resistant viral strains from developing in the body.
Zika Virus Vaccine
Health researchers have been rushing to develop a vaccine ever since the Zika virus outbreak. A single molecule medicine that can fight many viruses can potentially respond faster to infections still developing.
Pregnant women infected with the Zika virus can pass the disease to her unborn child, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote. Zika causes microcephaly in babies, as well as other brain defects, eye problems, hearing loss and impaired growth.
A report from the CDC stated that routine vaccines given to children over the last 20 years are capable of deterring hundreds of millions of illnesses, tens of millions of hospitalizations and prevent more than 700,000 fatalities in the U.S. There are existing vaccines for cholera, influenza, HPV, mumps, and smallpox, among others.
Herd Immunity
Herd immunity is an important part of immunization. The NIH wrote that when a community is immunized against contagious illnesses, majority of the people in that area are protected from diseases because the virus has no chance of developing and spreading to others. Infants, pregnant women and people with weak immune systems largely benefit from this situation.
Vaccinations For Children
Some parents, however, forego vaccinations for their children. Vaccination rates have plummeted causing herd immunity to drop as well. According to the Huffington Post, herd immunity has dropped below safety thresholds in the U.S. and in Europe and are significantly affecting infants and people with weak immune systems -- the most vulnerable members of the community.
California Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed the bill SB 277, which requires every child to be vaccinated before gaining acceptance to private or public schools. Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children will be forced to home school.
