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In
recent years, research at AFRIMS has helped to bring about
the licensing of two new vaccines against viral diseases.
Japanese encephalitis (JE) and hepatitis A vaccines were
approved by the FDA following successful large-scale efficacy
field trials involving upwards of 60,000 volunteers in
Kamphaeng Phet province. Work continues on the development
and testing of vaccines to prevent dengue and hepatitis
E, and to evaluate second generation JE vaccines that
are safer and less expensive.
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Diagnostics
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The AFRIMS utilizes modern
molecular biology tools for the rapid detection
of viruses that cause epidemics of hemorrhagic fever,
hepatitis, and encephalitis throughout Asia. Techniques
available are polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for
Dengue, Japanese encephalitis, hepatitis A, hepatitis
B, hepatitis C, hepatitis E, hepatitis G and enteroviruses.
Other techniques available are western blotting
for Japanese encephalitis, Dengue and hepatitis
E.
The AFRIMS
developed and evaluated diagnostic assays for Dengue,
Japanese encephalitis and Chikungunya viruses. These
assays are used to characterize human immune responses
to flavivirus infections as well as the epidemiology
of flaviviruses in the human population and the
potential use of a vaccine to prevent disease.
An immunohistochemical
technique has been developed to detect the etiologic
agent of scrub typhus (Orientia tsutsugamushi)
in the arthropod vector.
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Japanese
encephalitis (JE) results in death of 25% of hospitalized
patients infected with this virus. The majority of survivors
suffer from life-long neurologic complications. After
completing the pivotal efficacy trial that lead to the
licensure of JE vaccine in the United States, AFRIMS continues
to study this disease with collaborators in Cambodia,
Nepal, and Vietnam. New JE vaccines with less side effects
and longer lasting immunity are currently being evaluated
in animal models.
Japanese
encephalitis vaccine study, Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand.
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