Ebola Vaccine Research and Development Accelerates Worldwide with Outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in 2014-2016

 

An outbreak of Ebola in 2014-2016 has attracted the world's attention and the medical authorities for R&D in Ebola vaccines. It is important therefore that new vaccines will be developed to fight this disease. The challenge is that it has to be developed in a public health framework since it is still a developing country. There have been no trials of an effective cure as yet and the ring vaccination trials have not begun.

Ebola vaccines are vital vaccines intended to prevent Ebola. The first approved vaccine for Ebola virus disease (EVD) was Ervebo in December 2019, with support from a study conducted in Guinea during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak. Recently, various governments have granted license for unrestricted clinical trials of an experimental treatment for members of the family with EVD.

The company, Merck is developing an oral zoster vaccine called K9MVAX which is under study at the WBC Immune Products Research Unit under the auspices of the Wellcome Trust. The trial is being done in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, University of Nairobi and the National Institute of Health, Nairobi. This is an uncomplicated procedure using a single shot of the vaccine. The vaccine will go through further clinical trials to assess safety and efficacy. If successful it will enter phase three and eventually be available for mass production.

Alternative treatment for EVD called as VSV-ECTAC is available and it was engineered by a pharmaceutical company, CVS Pharmaceuticals. It has been licensed for public use in Australia, Canada and the UK. It is manufactured by New Zealand company, Newlink Pharmaceuticals and it is the first FDA approved VSV-ECTAC. It is currently accessed on a trial basis with access periods of up to 14 days.

There are no adequate research trials being done to assess whether the Ebola vaccine would provide any protection against re-infestation of EVD. No one can say that the vaccination will be able to completely protect all cases among the survivors of the epidemic. The most promising discovery thus far seems to be the postponement of the Datalink vaccine trial. The postponement came after one case of infection was identified. The team that was working on the vaccine was concerned because of the possibility of an increased risk of EVD in children if they received the vaccine while their mothers were already infected with EVD.

The trials in countries like Sierra Leone and Nigeria are of low priority compared to the rest of the world. There has been no clinical trial data made public so far and there is a lack of information regarding safety of the Ebola vaccine. It is necessary for these trials to begin immediately since there are no guarantees of what effects it will have on survivors and on the general population in general. It has also been mentioned that the trials will only be successful if they incorporate rigorous and well placebo controlled design. It seems that the scientists are in a rush to get the projects off the ground because the clock is ticking before the next outbreak.