First batch of Ebola vaccine sent to Liberia

Three hundred vials of GlaxoSmithKline's experimental Ebola vaccine have been sent to Liberia, one of three African countries hit hardest by the epidemic, according to a Reuters report.

With the GSK vaccine, researchers plan to commence the first of numerous large-scale vaccine trials in the coming weeks. They hope to include 30,000 people in the trial, one third of whom would receive the GSK vaccine.

The treatment — co-developed by the National Health Institute and GSK-owned biotechnology firm Okairos — uses chimpanzee cold virus to deliver the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus.

The vaccine is currently being tested in phase I safety trials in the United States as well as the U.K., Switzerland and Mali. Despite findings that suggest the vaccine is safe in people, it is still in development, according to the report.

 

 

More articles on Ebola:
WHO: Ebola on the decline in West Africa
United Nations: Additional $1B needed to fight Ebola outbreak
Ebola virus genetics mutate, making drugs ineffective

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