Possible repurposing of seasonal influenza vaccine for prevention of Zika virus infection

Abstract

The in silico analysis shows that the envelope glycoproteins E of Zika viruses (ZIKV) isolated in Asia, Africa and South and Central America encode highly conserved information determining their interacting profile and immunological properties. Previously it was shown that the same information is encoded in the primary structure of the hemagglutinin subunit 1 (HA1) from pdmH1N1 influenza A virus.  This similarity suggests possible repurposing of the seasonal influenza vaccine containing pdmH1N1 component for prevention of the ZIKV infection.