A decisive step in the fight against the Ebola epidemic. While the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about the resurgence of the Ebola virus in Liberia, where the virus has already killed 4,800 (figure for the month of May), the hope of blocking the virus has never been so close. The reason for this optimism comes from the results of clinical trials conducted in the field of the first experimental vaccine.
Tested in Guinea on more than 4,000 people, the VSV-ZEBOV vaccine has been shown to be 100% effective, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet. This efficacy was observed ten days after the injection of the vaccine in infected persons and still in contact with the sick.
This vaccine was developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada and manufactured by US laboratories NewLink Genetics and Merck. “An effective vaccine against the Ebola virus is within reach on a global scale,” said the WHO in a statement, taken up by AFP.
Other trials to come
This is the first time that a vaccine has been developed so quickly, in less than a year, instead of typically ten years.
But this maximum efficiency observed on a small panel must be further verified on a larger sample. “We will need more conclusive data to know whether it can confer collective immunity to entire populations”, tempers the WHO quoted by Le Point. The next volunteers should include teenagers between 13 and 17 years old.
The VSV-ZEBOV vaccine is not the only advanced vaccine against Ebola virus. Researchers also have high hopes for a vaccine developed by the British laboratory GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) with the American Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). It is currently in the testing phase in Liberia.
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