14 DAY TRIAL // A report published earlier this week in the journal Science describes a new Ebola vaccine that, when tested on monkeys, was found to be both safe and effective in terms of protecting the primates against the deadly virus.
The vaccine is the work of a team of researchers led by University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist Yoshihiro Kawaoka. Given the encouraging outcome of their experiments on animals, the specialists hope to soon test it on humans.
What's so special about this vaccine?
Writing in the journal Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison specialist Yoshihiro Kawaoka and fellow researchers explain that their vaccine is designed to introduce all the viral proteins and genes associated with the Ebola virus in the body.
Other Ebola vaccines that are currently in the works either deliver only a few proteins and genes associated with the virus, or deliver other viruses genetically engineered to resemble Ebola.
These other vaccines also train the immune system to recognize the Ebola virus as a threat and fight it. Still, Yoshihiro Kawaoka and colleagues argue that, since the body is not acquainted to the whole virus, full protection is out of the question.
The specialists argue that, seeing how it delivers all the Ebola proteins and genes, their vaccine does a much better job teaching the immune system to zoom in on the virus and annihilate it.
“In terms of efficacy, this affords excellent protection,” University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher Yoshihiro Kawaoka commented on his and his colleagues idea to use the whole but inactivated Ebola virus to develop their vaccine.
Human clinical trials could soon follow
When testing their experimental vaccine, the scientists used cynomolgus macaques, otherwise known as crab-eating macaque or long-tailed macaque. They settled on this species because of its susceptibility to Ebola.
Having successfully tested their whole virus vaccine on such primates, the researchers are looking to debut clinical trials involving human volunteers. Before this can happen, however, they must secure both funding and the approval of medical authorities.
