Chikungunya and zika virus Vaccines

The spread of chikungunya and Zika viruses can be controlled by vaccination of human populations. Classical inactivated virus formulations and live attenuated viruses have demonstrated different rates of success. The molecular toolbox is now advanced enough to explore the potential of novel vaccine modalities that are in different stages of development and (pre)clinical testing. Here, we describe the state of the art of classical and next-generation vaccine platforms including viral vectored and chimeric vaccines, virus-like particles (VLPs), and nucleic acid (DNA, RNA), and subunit vaccines. We review their development, characterization, immunogenicity, and safety and we provide a future outlook for these vaccines to alleviate the burden of disease in areas where mosquitoes continue to spread these pathogens. Finally, we indicate particular challenges for chikungunya and Zika vaccines to proceed though clinical trials and become commercially available.