Scientists at Yale University School of Medicine, USA, have developed a vaccine against Lyme disease, based on the same technology used for the Covid-19 vaccine.

The team showed, in guinea pigs, that the mRNA vaccine offered protection against the infection that causes Lyme disease – spread to humans by infected ticks – and may also combat other tick-borne diseases.

According to the findings, in Science Translational Medicine, the vaccine teaches the immune system to recognise the saliva from tick bites.

“There are multiple tick-borne diseases, and this approach potentially offers more broad-based protection than a vaccine that targets a specific pathogen,” said senior author Erol Fikrig.