The United States accelerates testing of Ebola vaccine in humans

Researchers at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are preparing to conduct a human clinical trial of a new prospective Ebola virus vaccine, nearly a month earlier than expected.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that phase 1 of clinical trials for the new vaccine will be promoted early next month, soon. more than the original plan was at the end of September, due to the serious situation of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa today.

Researchers hope to complete the first phase of the trial by the end of November this year, instead of January 2015 as originally planned.

"We are facing an urgent situation. We want to react as safely as possible, but we need to act as quickly as we can," Mr. Fauci said.

The NIH Vaccine Research Center has been working hard to develop Ebola vaccines over the years with Okairos, a Swiss-Italian biotech joint venture now owned by UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. .

The experimental vaccine has given promising results in non-human primates. The vaccine will be tested in 20 healthy adults at the NIH Clinical Center in Maryland, USA.

US researchers will begin testing new Ebola vaccines in 20 healthy adults at the NIH Clinical Center in Maryland state from early next month.(Photo: DPA)

Known as an adenovirus vector vaccine to prevent respiratory viruses for chimpanzees, the test vaccine does not contain the infectious Ebola virus component. According to Fauci, chimpanzee adenovirus is a "dead virus" , meaning that it does not regenerate when it has entered our bodies. This dead (or inactivated) virus is thought to cause the body to produce antibodies, which are also produced if humans are infected with the Ebola virus.

Researchers will compare the previous person's immune response to previous tests in monkeys to determine if the vaccine is effective. Experts are not yet clear when the vaccine will be ready for mass use, but Mr. Fauci predicts that it could happen in 2015, depending on the Food Administration's approval. and US pharmaceuticals (FDA).

Accelerating the testing of vaccines is part of a global effort to deal with Ebola outbreaks. The latest UN statistics show that outbreaks have claimed 1,229 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria. Currently, there is not yet any Ebola vaccine or medicine certified.

Last week, the Canadian government announced it would donate 800 - 1,000 doses of tested Ebola vaccine produced by the country to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Africa.

To encourage the development of therapeutic measures, WHO has also allowed the use of some untreated drugs, which can help fight Ebola virus.

ZMapp, an experimental drug made by the Mapp biologic drug company in San Diego (USA), has been used to treat two US medical aid workers, one Spanish missionary and three doctors. Liberia. While the health situation of two American doctors gradually improved, the Spanish pastor is now dead.

Mapp recently released a statement saying that the supply of ZMapp has been exhausted and it will take many more months to produce a small amount of this experimental dose.