Breakthrough in cold vaccine research

Some people never catch a cold, others get them frequently, and for some, a cold can be extremely dangerous. However, colds may no longer pose a threat to your health thanks to a group of scientists who are very close to developing a vaccine against the common cold.

A research team in Paddington, London, is making breakthroughs in developing a nasal spray vaccine, SynGEM, that could prevent the common cold.

This vaccine has been successfully tested on mice and is now being tested in a spray form on humans.

Despite being a common illness, medicine has yet to find a cure for it. Developing a vaccine is also challenging because there are up to 200 types of viruses that cause the common cold, 80% of which are caused by three viruses: rhinovirus, coronavirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Even Professor Peter Openshaw of Imperial College London once believed that "It is very difficult to find a vaccine or drug that works against all viruses."

But after spending 30 years researching colds and flu, Professor Openshaw believes they are actually getting closer to a breakthrough with a vaccine targeting RSV.

His team is in the process of testing a nasal spray vaccine on 36 volunteers and waiting to see if the vaccine works – if the subjects produce antibodies (immune cells that fight the virus), then it means SynGEM is effective.

If the vaccine is successful, it could save many lives, especially the elderly and children. This is because the disease is not only unpleasant but can also be fatal.

According to Dantri