One hundred per cent success rate in initial Guinea trials
By Lauren Kelly, News Editor
The Ebola vaccine VSV-EBOV, developed by Canadian scientists at the Public Health Agency of Canada, has experienced a 100 per cent trial success rate when used immediately after contact.
The researchers used a ring design to decide who to administer the vaccine to. They would vaccinate all willing contacts to an Ebola patient, excluding children and pregnant women. Out of the 2,014 close contacts to the Ebola virus who were vaccinated between April and July, none of them contracted the disease.
In a second group, 1,498 close contacts were vaccinated three weeks afterwards. In this group, 16 people were infected with Ebola. The results show that although the test has proven very effective at this point, it is still crucial to administer the vaccine as soon after the contact as possible.
The current outbreak of Ebola has infected a total of 27,748 people in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and killed at least 11,279. Although the spread has slowed down, the vaccine’s success could fully end the current outbreak and help to stifle future ones.