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Ebola Virus 2014 - Vaccine News Update: Trials could begin in West Africa by January 2015

Amid all the talks of flight restrictions and worldwide medical relief efforts, there is one even more significant piece of Ebola control that may be ready in the coming months: A vaccine.

According to World Health Organization Trials of Ebola vaccines could be getting testing trials in West African countries most affected by the virus as soon as January.

While this is no doubt some good news in a subject that has had so little in recent weeks, this news comes with a flip side: the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that Ebola could affect up 1.4 million people by the time that the vaccine is ready to be distributed to the public in January. The mortality rate is expected to be around 70 percent according to USA Today.

The West African states most effected are Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. More than 9,200 people have been infected with Ebola with 4,500 being killed.

To be clear: there have yet be a confirmed vaccines or treatments for the disease, but the vaccinations are the best shot at keeping the outbreak in West Africa under control and away from the rest of the world.

An Ebola vaccine study began in September at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda Md., where the drug was also developed. The preliminary data should be understood by the end of the year and will inform how health officials should proceed. The United Nations and the African nation of Mali also have human studies underway and clinical trials will begin in Switzerland by February.

Should things proceed as planned, the vaccine will be confirmed safe and effective in its early test and could go out to West Africa early next year. Approval from officials is not a requirement or its limited distribution in West Africa.

The plan even includes to distribute the vaccine to those that have a high risk of infection, such as health workers or those in close proximity of the affected individuals. This would make the use of the vaccine to be similar to that of unapproved drugs ZMApp and TKM-Ebola.

This vaccine would assist the 423 health workers that have contracted Ebola and keep the number of 239 that have died at a more stable level. Two of those that have come down with he virus include the nurses who treated the first diagnosed case of Ebola in the U.S.

The funding situation for the vaccine has not been settled, but it is believed that testing Ebola drug will cost millions of dollars. It is believed that most of the major nations such as the U.S., the United Kingdom, France and Germany will be involved in the finances.


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