Age Ebola vaccine successfully tested

Researchers from Thuringia have tested a ten-year-old Ebola vaccine

04/02/2015

A 10-year-old Ebola vaccine could prevent the worst from future outbreaks of the disease. The report from researchers from Thuringia, who have successfully tested the Canadian drug rVSV-ZEBOV-GP. For the current Ebola outbreak, however, he comes too late.

Ebola vaccine comes too late for current outbreak of the disease
The new vaccine, which could have been on the market for ten years, was tested in an international study involving 138 volunteers in Lambaréné, Gabon, Kilifi, Kenya, Geneva and Hamburg. The results are „promising, "said Prof. Peter Kremsner, coordinator of the study and director of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, on Wednesday in Tübingen in an interview with the news agency „dpa“. The Canadian drug rVSV-ZEBOV-GP is well tolerated by most patients. In addition, it had been demonstrated that antibodies against the Ebola virus would be formed. Kremser admitted, however, that although one „high probability“ The vaccine is also effective, but no scientific evidence has yet been provided. Possibly the Ebola vaccine could be approved later this year. The patent is held by the pharmaceutical company Merck.

Why the vaccine was not developed to market maturity for ten years, Kremsner attributed to lack of interest in view of the low number of cases. Because up to the current extremely dramatic Ebola outbreak, a few dozen or even several hundred people were affected. The development of the vaccine of the Canadian health authority is therefore „got stuck sometime ".

The new vaccine could be used in future outbreaks of the disease. However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 25,000 people have been infected and more than 10,000 have died in West Africa, according to the expert. In the current Ebola outbreak, however, is now a decay to watch. So there were 75 new infections last week.

Two Ebola vaccines could be approved soon
The further development of the ten-year-old vaccine has been accelerated, given the high number of cases since the beginning of last year. „It was an emergency situation, "explains the expert, adding that more vaccines are currently being used by adults in Gabon to find the best possible dosage, and the same approach is already being planned for children and adolescents.

Side effects of the vaccine included fever or discomfort. These are but „impulsively, "says Kremsner, adding that eleven volunteers had been diagnosed with arthritis as a result of the vaccine, but that this had subsided rapidly.

As the expert reports, there are about a dozen more Ebola vaccines, but there is only one other in addition to the new vaccine has progressed so far in its development. The other active substance is cAd3-EBOZ from the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which was developed in collaboration with the US National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Both vaccines have also been successfully tested in other studies, including in Liberia.

The Ebola virus is one of the most dangerous pathogens worldwide because there is no cure. The virus triggers haemorrhagic (bleeding-associated) fever that can only be treated symptomatically. For many people, however, any help comes too late. According to the WHO, the death rate is between 25 and 90 percent depending on the outbreak and the virus variant. (Ag)