An Ebola virus vaccine trial has commenced with the vaccination of three health care workers in Mali, in the latest clinical trials to be launched. The West African outbreak has turned into a full blown epidemic, having infected more than 8,000 people, killing half of them, with the death toll likely to rise, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Mali has not yet been invaded by the virus.
NBC News has reported that although it would be months before the vaccine would be available, and even then not in large quantities, it would be a first step in getting more medical worker to join in the fight against the virus, as health care workers are at highest risk of getting infected.
The vaccine was developed at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The trial, which usually takes six to 11 months set up because of all the regulatory and ethical hoops to jump through, was launched in two months.