Ebola

An immunization regimen using two Ebola vaccine candidates was safe and well-tolerated and induced an immune response in healthy adult volunteers in a Phase 1 clinical trial. Results from the study are described in the April 19th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has supported the development and testing of the two investigational vaccines: Ad26.ZEBOV, developed by Crucell Holland B.V., and MVA-BN-Filo, developed by Bavarian Nordic.

The Reston virus, a member of the Ebola virus family which is known to circulate in domestic pigs in Asia, may acquire the few mutations necessary to cause disease in humans and to develop into a novel health threat, researchers have warned.

In an important advancement towards an effective treatment against the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD), researchers have found that a single monoclonal antibody isolated from a human survivor completely protects monkeys from lethal infection with the virus.

Researchers have identified a new group of powerful Ebola-fighting antibodies from the blood of a survivor of the 2014 outbreak of the deadly disease.

In what could be termed as “silver bullet” for Ebola viruses, a team of researchers has isolated human antibodies from Ebola survivors which can neutralise multiple species of the virus that has killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa in the past two years.

The World Health Organisation on Tuesday declared the end of the Ebola outbreak in the West African nation of Guinea, two years after the beginning of the epidemic.

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced that the application for Emergency Use Assessment and Listing (EUAL) for the company’s investigational Ebola Zaire vaccine, V920 (rVSV?G-ZEBOV-GP, live attenuated), has been accepted for review by the World Health Organization (WHO).

A fresh clinical trial of a new Ebola vaccine has found that it is well tolerated, safe and stimulates strong immune responses in adults in Mali, West Africa and in the US.