Breaking Christian News

Pray It Works: First Human Trial for Experimental Ebola Vaccine to Start This Week

Aimee Herd : Sep 2, 2014
Sydney Lupkin – ABC News

"There is an urgent need for a protective Ebola vaccine, and it is important to establish that a vaccine is safe and spurs the immune system to react in a way necessary to protect against infection."

Ebola burelAccording to an ABC News report, the first human trial will begin this week, to test a vaccine for the prevention of Ebola—the deadly virus that has reportedly killed some 1,552 people. (Photo via CNN.com)

While two American Christian humanitarian workers recovered from Ebola last month, thanks to the experimental drug ZMapp; the vaccine is designed to prevent an infection of the deadly virus in the first place.

In a statement, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health said, "There is an urgent need for a protective Ebola vaccine, and it is important to establish that a vaccine is safe and spurs the immune system to react in a way necessary to protect against infection."

Phase 1 of the clinical trial is slated to begin this week at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, said ABC News.

Trial of the vaccine—which is said to have "performed extremely well" in primate studies—will involve 20 people ranging in age from 18 to 50.

The test subjects will not be infected with Ebola, but will be studied to "determine whether the vaccine is safe and see whether it prompts an immune response necessary to protect against Ebola."