An experimental Ebola vaccine appears safe
and triggered signs of immune protection in the first
20 volunteers to test it, U.S. researchers reported
Wednesday.
The vaccine is designed to spur the immune
system's production of anti-Ebola antibodies, and
people developed them within four weeks of getting
the shots at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Half of the test group received a higher-dose shot,
and those people produced more antibodies, said
the study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine.
Some people also developed a different set of virus-
fighting immune cells, named T cells, the study
found. That may be important in fending off Ebola,
as prior research found that monkeys protected by
the vaccine also had that combination response.
Stimulating both types of immune response is "a
promising factor," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of
NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, whose employees led the work.
The researchers reported no serious side effects.
But two people who received the higher-dose
vaccine briefly spiked fevers, one above 103
degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius), which disappeared
within a day.
Earlier this month, Fauci told Congress this first-
stage testing was promising enough that the U.S.
planned much larger studies in west Africa, starting
in Liberia in early January, to try to prove whether
the vaccine really works.
Scientists are racing to develop ways to prevent or
treat the virus that has killed more than 5,600
people in West Africa, most of them in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Wednesday's publication offered scientific details
about the initial testing of the vaccine candidate
furthest along, one being developed by NIH and
GlaxoSmithKline. Additional safety studies are
underway here and abroad. A different Canadian-
made vaccine also has begun small safety studies.
Many questions remain as larger studies are being
designed, including the best dose and how soon
protection may begin, cautioned Dr. Daniel Bausch,
a Tulane University Ebola specialist who wasn't
involved in the study. Plus, monkey research
suggests a booster shot will be needed for long-
term protection.
and triggered signs of immune protection in the first
20 volunteers to test it, U.S. researchers reported
Wednesday.
The vaccine is designed to spur the immune
system's production of anti-Ebola antibodies, and
people developed them within four weeks of getting
the shots at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Half of the test group received a higher-dose shot,
and those people produced more antibodies, said
the study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine.
Some people also developed a different set of virus-
fighting immune cells, named T cells, the study
found. That may be important in fending off Ebola,
as prior research found that monkeys protected by
the vaccine also had that combination response.
Stimulating both types of immune response is "a
promising factor," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of
NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, whose employees led the work.
The researchers reported no serious side effects.
But two people who received the higher-dose
vaccine briefly spiked fevers, one above 103
degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius), which disappeared
within a day.
Earlier this month, Fauci told Congress this first-
stage testing was promising enough that the U.S.
planned much larger studies in west Africa, starting
in Liberia in early January, to try to prove whether
the vaccine really works.
Scientists are racing to develop ways to prevent or
treat the virus that has killed more than 5,600
people in West Africa, most of them in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Wednesday's publication offered scientific details
about the initial testing of the vaccine candidate
furthest along, one being developed by NIH and
GlaxoSmithKline. Additional safety studies are
underway here and abroad. A different Canadian-
made vaccine also has begun small safety studies.
Many questions remain as larger studies are being
designed, including the best dose and how soon
protection may begin, cautioned Dr. Daniel Bausch,
a Tulane University Ebola specialist who wasn't
involved in the study. Plus, monkey research
suggests a booster shot will be needed for long-
term protection.
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