New vaccine could shield millions from deadly fungal infections, researchers say

A vaccine in development could protect against fungal infections that currently have no cure and are difficult to treat, impacting nearly a billion people worldwide and killing about 1.5 million each year. Researchers note that fungi such as Candida albicans, Pneumocystis and Aspergillus—responsible for the majority of dangerous infections—are increasingly resistant to antifungal treatments. At the University of Georgia, scientists tested their experimental vaccine, NXT-2, in a mouse model of vulvovaginal candidiasis and found it generated a robust immune response and produced antibodies that reduced vaginal fungal levels by about 50 percent after a single dose.

In a June study in NPJ Vaccines, researchers tested NXT-2 in female mice with vulvovaginal candidiasis. After 28 days, the vaccinated group showed 50 percent fewer fungi in vaginal secretions and 35 percent less inflammation than the control group. The vaccine works by triggering antibodies against NXT-2, a fungal protein involved in exporting RNA and proteins, enabling the immune system to attack the pathogen. The researchers also reported that the vaccine had previously reduced levels of Pneumocystis and Aspergillus in other models.

Looking ahead, the team plans to test the vaccine in women who experience recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, RVVC, a condition thought to affect about one in 10 women over a lifetime and characterized by three or more yeast infections per year. Current treatment relies on a single class of antifungal drugs, which increases the risk of resistance and does not prevent future infections; the drugs also cannot be used during pregnancy. Karen Norris, lead study author and a professor of immunology and translational biomedicine at UGA, said RVVC is not life-threatening, but it is miserable, and she described the vaccine as addressing a large unmet need.

Experts note that a single, pan-fungal vaccine could complement existing therapies by expanding protection against fungi that cause pneumonia, sepsis and central nervous system infections, which are among the deadliest forms of fungal disease. The team published the findings in NPJ Vaccines in June, highlighting the potential for broader protection against multiple fungi that account for more than 80 percent of fatal infections.

If clinical development proceeds, researchers plan to begin testing in humans, starting with women who have recurrent yeast infections, with the aim of establishing safety and immune responses that could pave the way for use in other high-risk groups, including transplant recipients and cancer patients.