{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T06:55:05Z","timestamp":1773212105022,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773100800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovaci\u00f3n","award":["632-2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["632-2022"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vaccines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus associated with severe neurological disease, including congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) following utero infection and Guillain\u2013Barr\u00e9 syndrome in adults. The 2015\u20132016 epidemic in the Americas highlighted the profound maternal and neonatal consequences of ZIKV infection. Although reported transmission has declined, ongoing circulation of competent vectors and population susceptibility sustain a substantial risk of future outbreaks, underscoring the need for effective vaccines. Methods: We developed a recombinant Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA)-based vaccine candidate expressing the ZIKV pre-membrane (prM) and envelope (E) proteins and evaluated its immunogenicity and protective efficacy in interferon receptor-deficient AG129 mice. Results: Vaccination induced strong humoral and cellular immune responses and conferred significant protection against viral replication in key target organs, including the brain and testes, following ZIKV challenge. Conclusions: These preclinical findings support further development of this MVA-based ZIKV vaccine as a promising strategy to prevent ZIKV infection and its associated neurological complications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines14030252","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T08:43:31Z","timestamp":1773132211000},"page":"252","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Protective Efficacy of a Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Based Vaccine Against Zika"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1802-2836","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leidi","family":"Carvajal Aristizabal","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"VaxThera, Medell\u00edn 050031, Colombia"},{"name":"One Health Genomic Laboratory, Department of Materials and Nanotechnology, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medell\u00edn, Medell\u00edn 050034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-7520-696X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ivanna","family":"Hoyos Ram\u00edrez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VaxThera, Medell\u00edn 050031, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2411-1875","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erwin","family":"Camacho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VaxThera, Medell\u00edn 050031, Colombia"},{"name":"One Health Genomic Laboratory, Department of Materials and Nanotechnology, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medell\u00edn, Medell\u00edn 050034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Maldonado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VaxThera, Medell\u00edn 050031, Colombia"},{"name":"Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Esteban","family":"Mar\u00edn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VaxThera, Medell\u00edn 050031, Colombia"},{"name":"One Health Genomic Laboratory, Department of Materials and Nanotechnology, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medell\u00edn, Medell\u00edn 050034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0404-9947","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Pablo","family":"Hern\u00e1ndez-Ortiz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VaxThera, Medell\u00edn 050031, Colombia"},{"name":"One Health Genomic Laboratory, Department of Materials and Nanotechnology, Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Sede Medell\u00edn, Medell\u00edn 050034, Colombia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jorge E.","family":"Osorio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"VaxThera, Medell\u00edn 050031, Colombia"},{"name":"Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"198","DOI":"10.12968\/bjon.2016.25.4.198","article-title":"Zika Virus Disease: A Public Health Emergency of International Concern","volume":"25","author":"Lupton","year":"2016","journal-title":"Br. 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