US works on developing Ebola vaccine, to launch human trial in September

As the Ebola virus continues to play havoc in the West African countries, the US Federal officials are leaving no stone unturned to develop a vaccine to treat this fatal disease.

The fed officials are working religiously to fast-track the development of the Ebola vaccine.

The scientists are also hopeful of beginning the human trials of the developed drug in September this year, a top National Institutes of Health official said on Thursday.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, “We are trying to go as quickly as we can amid the emerging nature of the situation.”

There is no vaccine or known cure for Ebola till date.

According to Fauci, NIH researchers have seen “pretty encouraging” results during the tests on the proposed vaccine in primates.

“We are currently working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get green signal for beginning early-stage human testing,” he said.

Ebola outbreak has claimed lives of over 700 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since February this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) report said.

This outbreak is the largest and deadliest ever in West Africa, the WHO said.

Experts say doctors and health workers are the worst hit by the vulnerability of Ebola contraction.

In 1976, the first cases of Ebola were traced in Nzara (Sudan) and Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

About Ebola

This hemorrhagic fever is fatal in nature. It is caused by Virus Ebolavirus. The deadly disease is contracted by humans and nonhuman primates like chimpanzees, monkeys and gorillas. The scientists, however, are still not sure about the original host of the fatal disease. Animals, mainly bats, are considered as its main source.

Some of the common symptoms include:

Fever
Muscle pain
Weakness
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Headache
Sore throat
Rash
Poor kidney and liver function
Internal and external bleeding in rare cases

These symptoms start appearing between two and 21 days after initial contact. They spread through bodily fluids like blood, urine, saliva, and sweat.

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Christina Langfold

Remember that weird girl in school who never quite managed to fit in? Who was always silent and strange? That was me during my entire teenage life. A few years after finishing college (with a degree in arts) I decided that the best way to become more sociable, while also feeling safe, is to test my people skills online.