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Many people infected by Ebola have been injected with the vaccine that could save the lives of thousands and could help put an end to the outbreak of this deadly disease.
It was reported that the newly-developed vaccine has shown positive results and it might be effective. However, a vaccine has not been licensed yet, as it still remains experimental. So far, more than 11,000 deaths have been recorded in West Africa .
Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that if the vaccine proves 100 percent effective, it could prevent further outbreaks from occurring in the future.
The vaccine consists of Ebola protein that prompts the body to attack the virus. According to experts, such as virologist Ben Neuman, who works at the University of Reading, this virus is “as safe as a flu vaccine”. However, further tests need to be carried out before administering it to pregnant women or children.
The treatment was developed by Canadian researchers. Up until now, about 4,000 people have been injected All of them had had contact with the virus over the past ten days.
The trial was ended on the 26th of July, in order to have the experiment monitored and give researchers time to immunize the patients.
The treatment should be made available as soon as possible, to avoid having the virus spread again and making more victims, according to Dr. Bertrand Draguez, from Doctors Without Borders.
A global vaccine development would cost approximately $ 2 billion and it could prevent both another development of Ebola outbreak and the development of other deadly diseases that could lead to similar consequences.
The fundamental challenges facing the discovery and development of new vaccines are growing in significance and can no longer be ignored,” stated Welcome Trust director Jeremy Farrar.
In fact, the cost that the global vaccine development involves is the biggest issue, because there are very few companies who want to invest in it.
The 2014 Ebola outbreak was the biggest in history and it affected many countries in West Africa. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total number of cases was 27,896 on the 1st of August and the total number of deaths reached 11,296.
Image Source: cnn
