Ebola Vaccine Trials Halted

Ebola Vaccine Trials Halted

Clinical trials held for Merck and NewLink’s new Ebola vaccine have been halted as a safety precaution after four patients have said they feel joint pains. The clinical trials are being done at the University of Geneva Hospital where the four patients are being monitored around the clock. The team which is leading the study will resume the testing on January 5 on the entire 15 volunteers after all concerns about the joint pain are analyzed.

Human trials for the vaccine started on November 10 and since then a total of 59 volunteers have been vaccinated. The medical team is under immense pressure as a vaccine is a possible lifesaver for millions of potential victims after the worst outbreak of Ebola in recorded history claimed the lives of over 6,000 people in West Africa.

A separate vaccine by GlaxoSmithKline has registered “satisfactory” results on 120 volunteers at the University of Lausanne Hospital. The first concrete results on Ebola immunity from the vaccine are due at the end of December according to a statement released by the Lauseanne University.

The Merck NewLink team in Geneva declared that the decision to suspend trials was made to better understand why any side effects appeared and that it is normal procedure in all clinical trials.

The global vaccines alliance or GAVI said they will spend at least $300 million to buy Ebola vaccines once they pass all necessary tests.

Posted by Grindu on Friday December 12 2014, 6:24 AM EST. Ref: firstpost. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0