UGA researcher developing new vaccine to fight resurging mumps
virus June 13, 2012Print Athens, Ga. - Mumps may seem like a
disease of a bygone era to many people in the U.S. who, thanks
to immunization programs, have been spared the fever, aches and
characteristic swollen jawline of the once common viral
infection. Biao He, a University of Georgia professor of
infectious diseases and a Georgia Research Alliance
distinguished investigator in the College of Veterinary
Medicine, worries that a new strain of the virus is spreading,
and it could lead to the widespread reintroduction of mumps.
Now, thanks in part a $1.8 million grant from the National
Institutes of Health, He and his team are working on a new
vaccine to stop it. Although not typically a life-threatening
disease, mumps can lead to serious health problems such as viral
meningitis, hearing loss and pancreatitis; and it can cause
miscarriage during early pregnancy. Vaccinations diminished the
number of cases dramatically, and at one point it appeared