Keeping vaccines stable at tropical temperatures

New method could revolutionize vaccine programs

A simple and cheap way of making vaccines stable at tropical temperatures has the potential to revolutionize vaccination efforts in low-income countries. One of the biggest costs in any vaccination program is maintaining "the cold chain" - making sure vaccines are refrigerated all the way from the manufacturer to the child. If most or all of the vaccines could be stabilized at high temperatures, it would not only remove cost, more children would be vaccinated and millions of lives could potentially be saved.

In the proof-of-concept study, a team of researchers from Oxford University and Nova Bio-Pharma Technologies showed it was possible to store two different virus-based vaccines for up to six months at 45ºC without any degradation. The vaccines could be kept for a year or more at 37ºC, with only tiny losses in the amount of viral vaccine. Global Health TV speaks to Dr Matt Cottingham of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, who led the research.

For more information:

http://www.ox.ac.uk./media/news_stories/2010/100218_1.html
http://www.jenner.ac.uk