An experimental vaccine for Ebola has been developed by the World Health Organization and has displayed a 100% success rate on its trials in Guinea.
"It's the first vaccine for which efficacy has been shown," said Dr Marie-Paule Kieny, a WHO assistant director-general and the study's lead author.
The vaccine was distributed to 5,837 people last year in Guinea, according to the Lancet medical journal. Within 10 days, all participants were free of the virus; they were followed up on for 84 days. It has proven to be nearly free of major side-effects (minor side-effects included headaches, fatigue, and muscle pain, but what doesn't), except for 80 people who had severe problems, only 2 of which could accurately be linked to the vaccine. All recovered without complications.
Other treatments are still under study, and other strains of Ebola such as Sudan still need a vaccine.
Sources: The Lancet Al Jazeera NY Times
(Score: 2) by Joe on Wednesday December 28 2016, @12:54AM
It is the norm (at least in the US) for disease with very low survival rates. It is hard to give a patient something that is worse than Ebola or stage 4 cancer, so many clinical trials start in patients with little hope of survival. Drug companies are sometimes hesitant to do this (or compassionate use) for fear of investors getting cold feet when they see patients dying (they would've died anyway but the drug still didn't work).
"Do no harm" is an easy standard to meet when the patient is dying.
- Joe
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday December 28 2016, @09:56AM
"Do no harm" is an easy standard to meet when the patient is dying.
The patient is always dying. Not of male pattern baldness as the other poster noted, but everyone dies of something.