AP, Washington :
US scientists have successfully conducted the first human trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine, the White House announced on Thursday.
The trial has “shown initial promise to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus infection,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
The vaccine was developed at the National Institutes of Health near Washington by a team of scientists led by Dr Francis Collins and Dr Anthony Fauci.
The institute announced that all 20 healthy adults who received the vaccine in a trial run produced an immune response and developed anti-Ebola antibodies.
Two people developed a brief fever during the trial but none suffered serious side-effects.
Within NIH, the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline worked jointly to produce the vaccine.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has claimed more than 5,000 lives, persuaded the team to fast-track the process.
“Based on these positive results from the first human trial of this candidate vaccine, we are continuing our accelerated plan for larger trials to determine if the vaccine is efficacious in preventing Ebola infection,” said Dr. Fauci.
The volunteers aged 18 to 50 and were split into two groups. Half received an intramuscular injection of vaccine at a lower dose and 10 received the same vaccine at a higher dose. Both tests produced promising results.
The death toll in the world’s worst Ebola epidemic has risen to 5,689 out of 15,935 cases reported in eight countries by Nov. 23, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
Almost all cases and all but 15 deaths have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – the three hardest-hit countries, which reported 600 new cases in the past week, the WHO said in its latest update.
“The total number of cases reported in Sierra Leone since the outbreak began will soon eclipse the number reported from Liberia,” it said. The former British colony has reported 6,599 cases against 7,168 in Liberia.
Transmission of the virus remains intense in Sierra Leone, especially in the west and north, with the capital Freetown still the worst affected area, it said.
Sierra Leone appealed to the United States on Wednesday to send military aid to help it battle Ebola as it falls behind its West African neighbors Guinea and Liberia in the fight against the virus.
US scientists have successfully conducted the first human trial of an experimental Ebola vaccine, the White House announced on Thursday.
The trial has “shown initial promise to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus infection,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
The vaccine was developed at the National Institutes of Health near Washington by a team of scientists led by Dr Francis Collins and Dr Anthony Fauci.
The institute announced that all 20 healthy adults who received the vaccine in a trial run produced an immune response and developed anti-Ebola antibodies.
Two people developed a brief fever during the trial but none suffered serious side-effects.
Within NIH, the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline worked jointly to produce the vaccine.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has claimed more than 5,000 lives, persuaded the team to fast-track the process.
“Based on these positive results from the first human trial of this candidate vaccine, we are continuing our accelerated plan for larger trials to determine if the vaccine is efficacious in preventing Ebola infection,” said Dr. Fauci.
The volunteers aged 18 to 50 and were split into two groups. Half received an intramuscular injection of vaccine at a lower dose and 10 received the same vaccine at a higher dose. Both tests produced promising results.
The death toll in the world’s worst Ebola epidemic has risen to 5,689 out of 15,935 cases reported in eight countries by Nov. 23, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday.
Almost all cases and all but 15 deaths have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia – the three hardest-hit countries, which reported 600 new cases in the past week, the WHO said in its latest update.
“The total number of cases reported in Sierra Leone since the outbreak began will soon eclipse the number reported from Liberia,” it said. The former British colony has reported 6,599 cases against 7,168 in Liberia.
Transmission of the virus remains intense in Sierra Leone, especially in the west and north, with the capital Freetown still the worst affected area, it said.
Sierra Leone appealed to the United States on Wednesday to send military aid to help it battle Ebola as it falls behind its West African neighbors Guinea and Liberia in the fight against the virus.
