Artificial virus protects mice from polio

Researchers have discovered a new approach which could potentially help produce new vaccines against polio.

A team from the State University of New York reported in the medical journal Science that a new "wimpy" artificial virus they produced protected mice against the disease.

Reuters reports that the mice were vaccinated with the synthetic virus and then given a lethal dose of polio, from which they survived.

The researcher's constructed the artificial virus using "less-favoured combinations of the virus's genetic code" and it is hoped that the findings could help to produce a new form of polio vaccine.

Bruce Futcher, professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, told the news agency: "Ultimately we created a wimpy poliovirus that can be customised and does not cause disease unless given at high doses.

"These viruses are still far from suitable vaccines for humans, but there is a lot of potential for this approach."

The Nigerian state of Kano has seen a sharp rise in the cases of polio, with 90 recorded cases in the last six months compared to zero during the same time period in 2007, reports AFP.