Press release

Innsbruck virologist Gisa Gerold leads multi-million EU-project on Chikungunya vaccine

Chikungunya fever is a painful viral disease transmitted by the Asian tiger mosquito. In Austria, cases have so far been limited to imported, travel-related infections. However, as these mosquitoes spread – driven by climate change – Europe has seen local outbreaks since 2007. A new EU-funded research project coordinated by the Medical University of Innsbruck will now investigate the safety and efficacy of a vaccine already approved in Europe in African populations. The results will also be highly relevant for people in Europe. 

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Innsbruck, 2 June 2026: ”Chikungunya virus is a zoonotic virus that circulates that circulates in primates and is transmitted from monkeys to humans by mosquitoes. Through mosquito bites, it can also be passed from infected humans to other humans, direct person-to-person transmission does not occur. Climate change is increasing populations of virus-carrying tiger mosquitoes in Europe, raising the risk of local outbreaks”, explains Gisa Gerold, Director of the Institute of Virology at the Medical University of Innsbruck.

Since 1 May, the virologist has led the “European-African Vaccine Initiative” (EAVI) project, funded with nearly €14 million as part of the Horizon Europe – European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) programme. Over the next five years, partners in Europe and Africa will work together to combat Chikungunya fever and other infectious diseases.

The name Chikungunya comes from an East African language and roughly means “to bend over”, referring to the severe joint and muscle pain that can last for months or even years. In 2025, around half a million cases were reported worldwide, including more than a thousand in Europe. The first locally transmitted outbreak in Europe, triggered by introduced mosquitoes, was documented in northern Italy in 2007.

Focus on vaccine safety

“There is an urgent need to test, license and distribute vaccines against Chikungunya infections in affected populations in sub-Saharan Africa”, Gerold emphasises. As part of the EAVI project, she coordinates a consortium of seven partner institutions in Kenya (Kenya Medical Research Institute), Tanzania (Ifakara Health Institute), Switzerland (EPFL – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Sweden (Karolinska Institute), Spain (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) and Austria including the pharmaceutical company Valneva (IXCHIQ® vaccine). The consortium brings together expertise from clinicial research, epidemiology, biostatistics, immunology, virology and vaccine development. In addition, Whitney Weber, an experienced scientist from Stanford University, has been recruited to support the research activities in Innsbruck.

As part of a Phase IIIb clinical trial, the vaccine will be tested for the first time in countries where Chikungunya virus is endemic. “Paradoxically, the vaccine has not yet been licensed in Africa, where the virus circulates and regularly causes outbreaks. Our goal is to generate the evidence needed, so that in the event of an outbreak, vaccination campaigns can be launched quickly and at scale”, Gerold says.
To maximise the study’s potential, state-of-art immune-profiling technologies will be used. For example, antibody responses and potential cross-reactions with related alphaviruses will be analysed using classical virological methods and electron microscopy. T cell analyses will flank the evaluation of cross-protection. This will help assess whether the vaccine could also be effective against other alphaviruses. 

Knowledge transfer and student exchange

Alongside the clinical study, the project promotes active technology transfer between Europe and Africa to enable long-term, affordable local vaccine production. To better capture underreported cases and improve diagnostics – including differentiation from the closely related O’nyong’nyong virus (ONNV) – mosquitoes in Kenia and Tanzania will be collected and analysed for viral load as part of a sub-study.

Within the EU project, early-career researchers from both continents will also have the opportunity to work in partner laboratories.

The entire consortium will meet in Innsbruck for the kick-off at the end of this month.

Further information

More on Chikungunya virus, its spread and risks can be found in the Medical University of Innsbruck’s podcast “Frag die Medizin” (Ask Medicine) with Gisa Gerold,  available on all major podcast platforms: https://www.i-med.ac.at/de/frag-die-medizin/    

More information can also be found here:  
Expert Gisa Gerold
EAVI
European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)