Each year, more than 10,000 people contract Lyme disease in Sweden. A vaccine against the disease, which is spread by ticks, is now being tested for the first time.
The goal is to produce a vaccine that works everywhere in the world. Blekinge is one of Sweden’s testing regions because the county is known to have a high incidence of Lyme disease.
More than 15,000 people were included in the study, which was led by Blekinge University of Technology.
It is difficult to produce a Lyme disease vaccine because Lyme disease bacteria are found in many different variants. In the initial study, we identified the types of Lyme disease present in Europe that the vaccine needed to cover, says Professor Johan Sanmartin Berglund.
Facts about Lyme disease
Lyme disease is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. The symptoms of Lyme disease are often greater redness of the skin, but the infection can also cause headaches and pain that radiates to the neck, arms, back, and legs.
Most people experience mild symptoms and recover after treatment with antibiotics, but the disease can also spread to the nervous system and joints. Then it takes longer to recover. Unlike TBE, which is transmitted by ticks, there is no vaccine for Lyme disease.
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The vaccine has been being studied now for more than a year. The test subjects will now receive their third dose.
The vaccination study should continue over at least two tick seasons. After that, it will be a few more years before the vaccine is approved and available in Europe. I estimate that a new vaccine could be available in 2026, says Johan Sanmartin Berglund of Blekinge University of Technology.
communication:
Johan Sanmartin, Professor of Applied Health Technology, Blekinge University of Technology, [email protected]
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