Human tests of Ebola vaccines 'about to begin' in affected countries: WHO

Human tests of Ebola vaccines 'about to begin' in affected countries: WHO

Geneva (AFP) - Human tests of two possible Ebola vaccines have proven safe and now tests to measure their efficiency will begin within weeks in the three west African countries ravaged by the deadly virus, the World Health Organization said Friday.

"These trials are about to begin for the two lead vaccines," WHO assistant director general Marie-Paule Kieny told reporters, adding that the vaccines would be tested on tens of thousands of people across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Phase III testing to ensure the vaccines actually provide protection against the virus that has killed 8,259 people in the three African countries is set to begin in Liberia by the end of the month, she said.

Separate tests are scheduled to start in Sierra Leone and Guinea in February, she added.

There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola, and the WHO has endorsed rushing potential ones through trials in a bid to stem the epidemic.

The two potential vaccines that have been undergoing Phase 1 safety tests on humans are ChAd3, made by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, and VSV-EBOV, manufactured by the Public Health Agency of Canada and developed by Merck.

Tests of the two potential vaccines have been conducted on volunteers in a range of countries, including Switzerland, Mali, Gabon, Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States.

Both have shown to have "an acceptable safety profile," Kieny said, relaying the findings of a high-level meeting of policy makers, researchers, regulators and vaccine developers in Geneva Thursday.

"That is really good news," she said, acknowledging that "the world is waiting for us to get these vaccines ready and out to the people with this virus raging through their communities."

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Human tests of Ebola vaccines 'about to begin' in affected countries: WHO