Canada begins Ebola vaccine trials
14 Oct 2014
An experimental Ebola vaccine developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada is set to be tested in humans.
The Canadian minister for health Rona Ambrose yesterday announced that the country’s public health agency was launching Phase 1 clinical trials for Canada’s Ebola vaccine (VSV-EBOV) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland, US.
The clinical trial will be used to test the vaccine on a relatively small group of people to assess its safety, determine the appropriate dosage and identify any side effects.
The vaccine was developed by scientists at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) and has shown ’great promise’ in animal research.
“The government of Canada is committed to supporting efforts to control the Ebola outbreak and hopes that advancing research on this experimental vaccine will be able to help address this global crisis,” Ambrose said.
“These clinical trials are an important step in addressing some of the ethical considerations around providing an experimental vaccine to assist in controlling the outbreak.”
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the current death toll for the current Ebola outbreak has surpassed 4,000, with the majority of deaths occurring in countries situated in West Africa.
Gregory Taylor, chief public health officer of Canada, said: “The [Canadian] team is very excited to have the vaccine proceed to the Phase 1 stage of clinical trials and we hope that this testing proves successful and that the vaccine will be approved for use to help control the ongoing outbreak in West Africa.”
Elsewhere, today marked the beginning of Ebola-screening at Heathrow airport, with passengers arriving from countries affected by Ebola undergoing a health screening process and questionnaire.
