US To Test Ebola Vaccine In September
It what is called the largest outbreak of the disease in history, the deadly virus has already killed 729, The Nation recalls.
The vaccine has been under development by the National Institute of Health for several years and the "encouraging results" have been received since, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci says.
According to the health sector official, the first stage of the trial is aimed at ensuring that the vaccine is safe for humans and shows some positive effects. Fauci explained that if proves safe, the drug should become available in January.
"We are starting to discuss some deals with pharmaceutical companies to help scale it up, so on an emergency basis, it might be available in 2015 for health workers who are putting themselves at extreme risk."
Since February the virus has claimed hundreds of lives in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Sierra Leone’s President yesterday declared the nationwide state of health emergency to enable control of the epidemic.
Meanwhile in Nigeria a US resident travelling from Liberia died last week in a Lagos hospital from the symptoms associated with Ebola virus. Since then no other case of the deadly disease has been registered in the country as at the time of filing this report, however people have been thrown into panic over the possible spread of the virus.
