Officials say, that it is incredibly difficult to develop a vaccine for the Ebola virus before 2015. In the meantime though, the FDA has authorized the use of an unapproved Ebola virus test under a special emergency use provision.
The Zaire strain of Ebola, for which the unapproved test has been authorized has infected at least 1711 people and killed 932 in West Africa. FDA spokesperson Stephanie Yao said that the test is designed for use in specific individuals like the Department of Defense personnel and respondents who may be at a huge risk of infection in the case of an outbreak.
Initial symptoms include flu-like signs, vomiting, muscle aches, weariness and a fever. However as the virus multiplies it damages the cells that line the blood vessels and results in patients bleeding and can cause organ failure. Experts have confirmed that in the latest Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the disease has managed to kill roughly 55% of those infected.
FDA is reported to have said that it is working with other government agencies to speed up the development of potential Ebola treatments.
The experimental vaccine that is the most promising at the moment is the one designed by the Vaccine Research Center, an arm of the National Institutes of Health. Dr Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease says that they have tested the drug on monkeys and the results are quite promising. Clinical trials are expected to begin in September, during that time the researchers are trying to assess if the vaccine will be safe for humans and whether it will trigger a protective response from the immune system. Human test subjects unlike the animal subjects, will not be actually infected with the virus to determine the effectiveness of the drug. The Department of Defense is also working with a company called Newlink to come up with a vaccine for the Ebola virus while Biocryst is working to develop an antiviral drug to treat Ebola with NIH support.
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