UK's Second Ebola Vaccine Ready For Testing

The UK's second Ebola vaccine is being fast-tracked to start testing in Africa in the coming weeks.

The trial, at the Oxford Vaccine Group, consists of two different vaccines given weeks apart.

The first injection "primes" the immune system with the second "boosting", or enhancing, the immune response.

Human trials started in Oxford in January and are expected to begin in Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya soon.

Large-scale testing, on tens of thousands of people in Africa, is planned for later this year.

It is one of only two Ebola vaccines to undergo clinical trials in the UK, and one of four "leading candidate Ebola vaccines" around the world, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The first UK vaccine, also developed at Oxford University last year, is currently undergoing testing in Africa.

Professor Matthew Snape, from the Oxford Vaccine Group, says the fact that several companies are developing vaccines is useful for the future.

"The more vaccines that are in development the more that are likely to get through development.

"If there were to be another large Ebola outbreak or a mass immunisation campaign planned for Ebola the more manufacturers you have the better.

"They may be making different vaccines and there may be different vaccines used in different situations."

The double-dose vaccine has been developed by Johnson & Johnson with EU funding at the Oxford Vaccine Group.

Dr Neil Walker, a statistician at Churchill Hospital, volunteered to take part in human testing.

"There is a very small element of risk involved but I put my trust in the science," he said.

"It would be nice to know at the end of the study that I've contributed in a very small way to getting this vaccine out into the real world."