Ebola vaccine test stopped with side effects

Ebola: Vaccine test interrupted because of side effects

14/12/2014

In Switzerland, a test with an Ebola vaccine had to be stopped. Several subjects had side effects. The patients complained of joint pain. In January, the experiments should be resumed.

No cure for the deadly disease
More than 6,300 lives have been claimed by the raging Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Nearly 18,000 infections have so far been registered by the World Health Organization (WHO). Infected people usually only treat typical Ebola symptoms, such as fever or diarrhea, because despite intensive efforts, there is still no cure or safe vaccine against the dangerous infectious disease. A test with an experimental Ebola vaccine now had to be stopped in Switzerland because of side effects.

Experiments are scheduled to resume in January
The clinical study, conducted by physicians at the University Hospital in Geneva (HUG), had to be interrupted for a few weeks. The news agency dpa reported that the testing of the Ebola vaccine was suspended after four of the 59 volunteers had complained of mild joint pain. The clinic reported that the experiments with the experimental serum „VSV ZEBOV“ to be resumed in January. It is good for everyone involved in the test.

Pain in joints
Comparable are the side effects of vaccination with localized inflammation, as they occur in other immunizations against viruses. Claire-Anne Siegrist, chief physician of the HUG vaccination center, said some volunteers complained about pain in the joints of their fingers or feet 10 to 15 days after vaccination. These are symptoms that are similar to the consequences of a vaccine against rubella. Above all, take the break to properly inform subjects about the possibility of such side effects and their causes. Overall, the vaccine will be from the subjects „very well tolerated“. This would have shown first results of the test series. The vaccine had been developed on behalf of the Government of Canada by local laboratories. The manufacturing license was granted to US companies. (Ad)