The current Ebola outbreak in Western Africa is the largest that humanity has ever experienced.
Will we ever have a vaccine for this scary disease?
Hey this is Carin for DNews. The ongoing Ebola epidemic in several Western African countries
continues to dominate news headlines - for good reason. In today’s global society the
potential for spread of a virus like this is massive. Ebola is easily transmissible
between humans through bodily fluids - even minute amounts of sweat or saliva can result
in viral transfer, which is why those that are at the highest risk of contracting it
are health-care providers and family members of those already sick.
There is currently no cure for Ebola, between 50 and 90% of those that catch the virus will
die from it. Those that manage to fight through the infection generally do so through supportive
health care measures like blood pressure and oxygen maintenance, and medications to control
fever, allow the blood to clot and to prevent other infections. There is currently no available
vaccine for Ebola, although a study recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences shows that scientists are making significant progress in developing one for
wild Gorillas and Chimpanzees.
You may not know that Ebola is actually one of the leading killers of wild apes. It has
actually killed over ⅓ of the worlds gorilla population, leading to their status as critically
endangered. Because the Ebola virus spreads so easily, conservationists generally support
vaccine development, even though they’re potentially dangerous. They involve administering
small doses of the offending bacteria or virus to the body so that our immune systems can
mount an appropriate response. This way, we become pre-emptively prepared in case we ever
come into contact with the pathogen again.
This is where it’s tricky to develop vaccines for diseases like Ebola. There is NO amount
that is safe to administer to apes or humans. However, scientists have produced what seems
to be an effective Ebola vaccine by using a ‘Virus-like particle’, a fragment of
viral coat protein. Since a fully replicating virus is not being transferred this is a much
safer way to make use of the natural immune reactions in the animals receiving them. Studies
in the past have demonstrated that this virus particle vaccine is both safe and effective
in macaques, one of our primate cousins. But the vaccine was recently administered to chimpanzees
and was found to be safe as well!
Just to be clear: chimpanzees were NOT challenged with the Ebola virus. They were inoculated
with the particle vaccine in order to see if it was safe for their bodies and to see
if they could mount a suitable immune response. And they could. Antibodies harvested from
vaccinated chimps were transferred to mice, who were then challenged by the ebola virus.
The mice were protected.
Ok, so this is HUGE news for wild ape populations world wide; and it’s potentially good news
for humans too. The NIH has just announced plans to fast track this vaccine and two others
to phase 1 clinical trials this September. It seems like the use of viral particle vaccines
represents a very promising technique for protecting us from deadly pathogens like Ebola.
What do you think? Should we be putting more effort into developing an Ebola vaccine? Let
us know in the comments below and click here to subscribe for more DNews every day of the
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