articleProceedings of the National Academy of SciencesJan 22, 2026HYBRID OA

Type I IFN autoantibodies underlie chikungunya live-attenuated vaccine encephalitis

AGA. GervaisPBPaul BastardQZQian ZhangMJMarie-Christine Jaffar-BandjeeLBLucy Bizien

Inserm · Université Paris Cité · +11 more institutions

PubMed
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Abstract

Human autoantibodies neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) have emerged as strong, common, and global determinants of a growing number of severe viral diseases, including hypoxemic viral pneumonia, arboviral encephalitis, and adverse reaction to the live-attenuated yellow fever virus (YFV) vaccine. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a growing global health concern that the live-attenuated vaccine VLA1553 (IXCHIQ®) was developed to address. In 2025, five unrelated adults (aged 82 to 88) on the island of La Réunion (France) developed severe reactions postvaccination; two died. The three patients with encephalitis (aged 84 to 85), including one lethal case, had immunoglobulin G autoantibodies in the blood neutralizing…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Chikungunya
  • Autoantibody
  • Virus
  • Neutralizing antibody
  • Antibody
  • Encephalitis
  • Viral encephalitis
  • Japanese encephalitis
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Good health and well-being
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