In a collaboratively funded government effort advancing treatments for the Zika virus, scientists recently announced that an exploratory version of the Zika purified inactivated virus (ZPIV) proved safe, tolerated and effective in national study participants.

Developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), the treatment is co-funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a press release said.

“A vaccine is urgently needed to help prevent Zika infection, which can cause birth defects and other developmental abnormalities in babies born to infected women, as well as a constellation of other health problems in infected adults and children,” NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said in the release.

Researchers at WRAIR revealed encouraging results from the treatment’s first clinical trials, with over 90 percent of subjects receiving a dose showing significant immunological response, according to the release.

"Zika remains a threat to U.S. military personnel and families of service members," Col. Nelson Michael, Zika program leader at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, said in the release. “We aim to develop a vaccine to protect the military, as well as the global community.”

The potential vaccine was administered at clinical sites in Silver Spring, Maryland; Boston, and St. Louis.