Ebola Vaccine – Ft McMurray's Homepage

Ebola Vaccine the Source of New Medical Debate

Scientists are in a race against time to develop an effective Ebola vaccine, and that has caused a new medical debate about whether the vaccine should be given as one dose or two doses. Providing the Ebola vaccine in a single shot could be much easier and far less complicated than a vaccine which requires two shots, but the two shot method may be more effective and provide greater protection overall. The medical debate has professionals on both sides, and scientists and medical professionals are working together to determine which method to use. Ebola is a deadly virus that can kill between 60% and 90% of the individuals infected, depending on the specific strain of the virus involved. More than 6,000 people in South Africa have died so far this year from Ebola, and the virus has managed to spread to many other countries as well.

One of the top priorities with any Ebola vaccine is to get the drug to the affected areas as soon as possible, and this complicates the medical debate over the number of shots to use with any vaccine program. A program that requires two shots will be more difficult to implement and would take longer to go into effect, but the added protection from the second shot may make this the best method in spite of the drawbacks. Ebola cases in South Africa have started to taper, and this is good news but it also complicates any Ebola vaccine trials because new cases of the virus are declining. This has allowed scientists and medical professionals to consider the prime-boost double shot method over the single shot dose.

Ebola Vaccine Tested in Winnipeg, Canada Cures Monkeys in Medical Study

Ebola is making headlines around the world, and Canadians can be proud of a recent Ebola vaccine testing in Winnipeg, Canada, that has cured monkeys of this virus. The medical study showed that 18 of the monkeys who received the experimental Ebola vaccine were cured of their viral infection, although it is still too soon to know whether the same results can be achieved in human subjects. Researchers caution that the Zmapp vaccine for Ebola is still highly experimental, however it was recently used on 7 people who were infected with the Ebola virus. Two of these individuals were the American aid workers who were working overseas and contracted the disease while helping others, and both of these people have recovered an dare doing well now.

The medical study which was published in the medical journal Nature shows that Public Health Agency of Canada researchers partnered with US researchers, and this collaboration started back in 2011. The research group had the goal of creating an effective cocktail of antibodies that could effectively fight off the Ebola virus, and the results are the Zmapp Ebola vaccine. According to researcher Gary Kobinger “What’s quite remarkable to us is that we could rescue animals that were quite advanced. The level of improvement was beyond my own expectations.” There have been previous drugs which could be considered an Ebola vaccine with a cure rate of 100% but these must be given within 1 hour of the viral infection, and that does not leave much time. The newest Ebola vaccine that Canada partnered with the USA to create is highly effective even when the viral infection has been incubating for several days an dthe test monkeys showed symptoms of Ebola.