Chikungunya, caused by the mosquito-borne virus can be prevented in monkeys and mice through a vaccine, raising hopes that it will work for humans soon. The name of disease comes from Swahili word meaning "that which bends up."

Presently there is no vaccine or treatment available for the disease. The disease has affected many people in Asia and Africa and can cause debilitating pain and in some cases death.

Researchers have indicated that the tests on humans will begin with in a year or two and also said that the discovery could lead to vaccines to prevent diseases from other so-called alphaviruses such as equine encephalitis, and the Ross River virus. Global travel and trade, along with climate change have resulted in expanding the habitats of the mosquitoes.

Gary Nagel, the Director of the Vaccine Research Center at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland and other scientists earlier identified the proteins that cause Chikungunya.

The scientists carried out an experiment in which they creates a safe variant of these virus-like particles and them immunized monkeys and then 15 weeks hence the animals were exposed to the disease. All the monkeys survive the test.

In other tests, serum containing the antibodies the monkeys had developed was injected into genetically-modified mice and the mice were protected from what would have otherwise been a deadly dose of the virus.

Nature Medicine published the report on Thursday which said the virus has been suppressed to harmless "background levels" in the vaccinated monkeys. Nagel expects the human trials to begin within another two years.

The disease spread in 2005 on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion. The disease infected a quarter of the population in less than two years and caused some 250 deaths. The disease is spread in countries like India, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia.