University of British Columbia researchers may have found a vaccine capable of saving birds, and by extension humans from the deadly West Nile virus.

The virus, which has killed more than 400 of people since coming to North America in 1999, is frequently spread to humans by mosquitoes that have bitten infected birds.

Knowing that, zoology PhD student Joanne Young decided to try and block the virus at the source.

“The virus is transmitted between birds and mosquitoes. If you take the birds out of the equation it would prevent the spread of the disease to horses and even humans,” Young told CTV News.

Young and her professor Wilfred Jefferies developed a vaccine for birds, then went about testing it throughout 2012. The results showed the animals had an immune response.

This was an important discovery, Young said, because on top of the human fatalities, some bird species face extinction because the West Nile mortality rate is so high.

Currently there is no vaccine for the infection in humans or birds, even though the BC Centre for Disease Control describes it as the most widely-distributed vector-borne disease in North America.

There have been no West Nile clinical cases in B.C. since 2010, but overall there have been nearly 5,000 cases and 42 deaths in Canada, the BCCDC reports.

The UBC experiments were done on common birds like crows, ravens and jays as well as endangered species like the greater sage-grouse and the eastern loggerhead strike – all of which are susceptible to West Nile infection.

The next step for the researchers is to test the vaccine’s effectiveness in stopping the infection from developing by injecting the vaccinated birds with West Nile.

They also hope to vaccinate birds in captivity, specifically exotic birds like penguins and flamingos that wouldn’t encounter the virus in their natural environment.

Young also said that there is a possibility that the vaccine could be used on humans one day after extensive testing.

The research was recently published in the online peer-reviewed publication PLOS ONE.