zika vaccine development

Zika vaccine still years away - WHO

In a statement to mark the first anniversary of WHO declaring Zika as an international emergency, it says it is unlikely a vaccine will be available for women of childbearing age before 2020.

The outbreak, which emerged in Brazil in 2015, has affected some 70 countries.

An earlier outbreak of a less severe form of Zika hit tens of thousands of people in French Polynesia in 2013.

The WHO says five vaccines are entering or about to enter into clinical trial for safety and ability to induce an immune response.

French company wants to develop Zika vaccine

Its CEO, Olivier Brandicourt, said a vaccine will however take at least three years to develop.

Sanofi Pasteur became the first company to develop a vaccine against dengue, which is a disease similar to Zika.