Doctors working on West Nile vaccine | Environment

While cooler temperatures have invaded our state, experts warn that the threat for some diseases is not over just yet.

In Oklahoma, 12 people have died from West Nile Virus this year and 175 people have become infected with the disease.

The season for West Nile Virus generally runs until mid-November so researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center are working hard to find a vaccine.

“Our goal is focused on using novel technology to develop a safe, efficacious, and inexpensive vaccine for the prevention of West Nile virus associated disease,”James Papin, Ph.D., said.

Officials say they may have developed a material that might be a viable vaccine in the future.

It uses new technology that inactivates the virus without changing it.

Experts say that means the inactivated virus looks the same to the body and the immune system, which might produce a stronger immune response.

The OU College of Pharmacy is also working to develop a dry powder vaccine against the virus.

Both projects have been funded by the National Institutes of Health.