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Ebola vaccine trial in Guinea suggests it’s 100% effective
A harmless virus engineered to carry a key Ebola gene creates effective immunity.
by John Timmer - Jul 31, 2015
Today, The Lancet released the results of a large field trial of a vaccine against Ebola, and the results are more than promising. Within the limitations of the study, the vaccine appears to be 100 percent effective. The results were so good that the trial itself has been stopped, and the vaccine is now being used to control the spread of the disease.
The vaccine is made by the pharmaceutical giant Merck, which licensed it from the Public Health Agency of Canada. It was developed through what has become a fairly standard approach. A harmless virus (vesicular stomatitis virus, or VSV) was engineered so that it also carried the gene for Ebola's major surface protein, simply called glycoprotein. When people receive the vaccination, a harmless infection follows, which triggers an immune response. This response targets not only VSV but the Ebola protein as well. Ideally, once the infection is eliminated, the immune system is able to recognize both VSV and Ebola.
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http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/07/ebola-vaccine-trial-in-guinea-suggests-its-100-effective/