Regina Rabinovich, M.D., the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Program, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, explains that high costs, transportation logistics and the lack of refrigeration for vaccines can thwart vaccination programs in these countries. The hope is that edible vaccines could be grown in many of the developing countries where they would actually be used. In this first study, the researchers used a gene from E. coli that is similar to one from the bacterium that causes cholera. They anticipate that the vaccine may give cross-protection against both forms of diarrhea. Also under study for transgenic alteration are antigens of viruses such as the Norwalk virus, which causes severe epidemic outbreaks of viral diarrhea.
Potatoes are only a prototype for delivering plant-based vaccines.
Techniques to create edible vaccines in bananas are now under way at BTI, but the crop takes much longer to mature and produce edible fruit. A tasty vaccine-containing food, particularly bananas, a favorite food among children, could be inexpensive and plentiful. Delivery of vaccines in plant cells also may protect the antigen as it passes through the acid environment of the stomach. Children of developing countries may not be the only beneficiaries of this new technology. It conducts research on plant biology and continues the tradition of using science and technology to protect the environment and improve human health and well-being.