vaccine trials have been taken on 12 rhesus macaques, a kind of monkey of the . (Photo: dantri.com.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) – has begun on monkeys in
Vietnam.
The
(Vabiotech) under the Ministry of
Health started trials on 12 rhesus macaques, a kind of monkey of the Macaca
mulatta family.
The
trials took place on Reu Island off the northern province of Quang Ninh.
Vu
Cong Long, head of the Animal Breeding Farm at the Centre for Research and
Production of Vaccines and Biologicals under the Ministry of Health, confirmed
tests were carried out on October 27.
Vabiotech
Director Do Tuan Dat said the monkeys are aged between three and five and weigh
more than three kilograms each. They had their health checked and are not
infected with any diseases, he said.
After
being vaccinated, the monkeys will be monitored for three months. Then, their
blood samples will be taken and sent to Hanoi for further analysis.
The
monkeys will be tested in two periods. In each period, they will be divided
into two groups, with one being vaccinated and the other not vaccinated. After
that, they will be monitored daily on separate islands.
The
testing will follow a similar model that may be performed on people. The
animals will be injected with the vaccine twice, with the shots being 18-21
days apart.
A
month after the second shot, researchers will assess their immune response to
see the effects between the injected and non-injected groups.
In
June, Vabiotech tested the vaccine on mice.
A
representative data was collected from the mice tests and scientists will
continue testing the vaccine on other animals.
The
results of the testing on monkeys will be a foundation for the next stage and
proposal to test the vaccine on people./.
Source: VietnamPlus
