Ebola Vaccine Trial Shows Signs Of Success

An experimental Ebola vaccine designed to boost the immune system's production of antibodies has produced positive results during a US trial, researchers say.

The trial, currently under way at the US National Institutes of Health, involves 20 volunteers who have received the vaccine.

Researchers say the volunteers developed anti-Ebola antibodies within four weeks of getting the shots.

Half of the volunteers received a higher-dose shot, and subsequently produced more antibodies.

The results of the trial have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study also found some people developed a different set of immune cells, named T cells.

The researchers believe these different immune cells may also be an important element in fighting off the virus.

Earlier research has shown that monkeys protected by the vaccine also had a combined response.

The researchers reported no serious side effects. But two people who received the higher-dose vaccine suffered fevers, which disappeared within a day.

The vaccine is being developed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) alongside GlaxoSmithKline.

"The unprecedented scale of the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has intensified efforts to develop safe and effective vaccines," said Dr Anthony Fauci from NIAID.

He added that the vaccine under development "may play a role in bringing this epidemic to an end and undoubtedly will be critically important in preventing future large outbreaks".

"Based on these positive results from the first human trial of this candidate vaccine, we are continuing our accelerated plan for larger trials to determine if the vaccine is efficacious in preventing Ebola infection."

More than 5,600 people have died during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, with most of the victims being reported in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.