Ebola vaccine proving effective in Guinea trials

THERE are hopes that an Ebola vaccine could have been created. The experimental drug has been involved in trials in Guinea and has proved effective, raising hopes it could help beat the battle against the deadly virus.

There is currently no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola, which has so far killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa since the world’s biggest outbreak began in the forest region of Guinea in December 2013, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the trial results are a ‘promising development.’

Named the VSV-EBOV vaccine, it has showed 100 per cent efficacy in individuals who volunteered to have it after coming in to close contact with an Ebola patient, but more tests and evidence are needed to assess its protection level. 

The government in Guinea is a partner in the project and the country’s national regulatory authority and ethics review committee has approved the continuation of the trial.