Our first visit was to the Center for Vaccine Development at Mahidol University. We were fortunate enough to learn from the researcher who invented the new (and first ever!) Dengue fever vaccine. As we learned earlier, dengue fever is a pretty elusive virus with multiple serotypes, and this researcher was able to create a vaccine that provided longer term immunity to all major serotypes. Keep in mind Thailand is not a wealthy country with lots of money to give towards research, and dengue fever only kills 0.01% of patients (most are asymptomatic. However, the vaccine is still an important and exciting step forward). Mahidol University partnered with the US and France in order to get funding and make the breakthrough. With this success, vaccines for similar mosquito borne diseases like Zika and malaria may be close(r) behind.
Lab equipment used in ELISA testing to cut costs.
We grabbed a bite to eat at a small, hole in the wall restaurant before heading off to the airport. I got a veggie pad thai, which came IN an omelette, which I found pretty funny.
And with that, off to Chiang Mai! It was a nice, 1 hour flight.
For dinner we went to a really really cool street market not far at all from our beautiful hotel. There were tons of street vendors, food trucks, 3D art, and live music. I definitely am looking forward to spending more time there in the evenings! Best part? My huge dinner and a fresh smoothie was only 160 baht (approx $5)!!
Marina
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