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The 140th Science Cafe Sapporo “Vaccines? What are they, and are they yummy? – Saving the world from rabies with oral vaccines! -” will be held on Sunday, March 23, 2025, at the Hokkaido University School of Medicine Centennial Hall 2F Multi-purpose Hall. This is a joint event with the Hokkaido University Institute for Vaccine Research and Development (IVReD) and Hokkaido University CoSTEP. We look forward to seeing you there!

What kind of talk is it?

Do you know about vaccines you can eat?
The development of “oral vaccines” that you can eat rather than inject is progressing. It is expected to be a new measure against the rabies virus that can be transmitted from stray dogs and wild animals to humans. Although rabies was eradicated in Japan in the 1950s through thorough countermeasures, it still kills around 60,000 people every year worldwide, and it is a serious problem, particularly in impoverished areas of Asia and Africa. To contain rabies, it is essential to widely distribute vaccines to stray dogs and wild animals, but giving each animal a shot is not realistic.
IVReD is working to develop an oral rabies vaccine that animals can naturally ingest. By mixing the vaccine into food and distributing it in the wild, it will be possible to deliver the vaccine efficiently and over a wide area. Furthermore, IVReD’s research aims to improve safety by not using live viruses, unlike conventional vaccines. IVReD is the only organization in the world that is working on this technology.
What is a virus that has had its pathogenicity removed? How does a vaccine taken orally work inside the body? There are still many issues to be addressed in research, but if this technology is established, it will not only make a dramatic advance in rabies countermeasures but also be expected to be applied to other infectious diseases. At this Science Cafe, IVReD Assistant Professor Yuka Itakura will explain the mechanism of oral vaccines and the front line of development.
Why not think together about the future that oral vaccines will change?

The 140th Science Cafe Sapporo “Vaccines? What are they, and are they yummy? – Saving the world from rabies with oral vaccines! -”

【Event Overview】

• Date and Time: Sunday, March 23rd, 2025, 15:00-16:30 (Doors open at 14:30)
• Venue:Hokkaido University School of Medicine Centennial Hall 2F Multi-purpose Hall
  (Kita 15-jo Nishi 7-chome, Kita-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido)
  15-minute walk from Kita 18-jo Station on the Subway Nanboku Line, 20-minute walk from JR Sapporo Station
  *Please Note: This is not the Centennial Hall near the main gate. Please read the Google map carefully.
• Speaker: Yukari Itakura, Assistant Professor / IVReD
• Listener: Takako Ikeda, Assistant Professor / Hokkaido University CoSTEP
• Fee： Free, no need to apply
• Organizer：IVReD and CoSTEP