Experimental hepatitis C vaccine tested.

“An early clinical trial of a hepatitis C vaccine has shown ‘promising’ results,” BBC News has today reported.

This story is based on a clinical trial that tested the dosage and safety of a newly developed vaccine against the hepatitis C virus. Researchers developed a vaccine by inserting small pieces of DNA from a hepatitis C virus into a rare form of the virus that causes the common cold. When faced with a vaccine like this, the body should mount an immune response and ‘remember’ the virus so that it can respond swiftly to any potential infections in the future. The researchers found that cells indicating immunity to the virus were present for a year in 41 healthy people who were vaccinated. This suggests that the immune system was prepared to respond if faced with the virus. None of the people involved with the study experienced significant side effects.

This was an early-stage clinical trial designed to test the safety of the vaccine rather than whether it could prevent infections. Extensive further research will now be needed to determine effectiveness, particularly whether or not it can prevent hepatitis C infections in real life settings. Given the complexities of testing and development, it is likely to take many years before any such vaccine could enter clinical use.