A British scientist researching Ebola, Dr. Mike Turner, has said a vaccine to prevent infection with the Ebola Virus Disease may be ready by December.
Turner, who is the Head of Infection at the Wellcome Trust, a non-governmental organisation in the United Kingdom which facilitates medical research, told newsmen that the organisation was partnering with the Dangote Foundation to develop ways to fight Ebola.
He said, “We are delighted that the Dangote Foundation is joining the Wellcome Trust and others in the international consortium of funders to develop a multi-pronged approach to combating Ebola.
“This is a fast-moving scene at present and it is not yet clear precisely which partners will fund which components of the work that we hope will lead to new diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.
“What is more important is that the partners are all not just talking about the problems, but actually trying to make things happen and the future inevitable epidemics. If things go well, we hope to know whether this candidate vaccine is safe, with some prospect of protecting people by Christmas.”
He added that Ebola kills more than half the people it infects and that the reason why some people die and others survive is not completely clear. He however stated that immunity was important.
According to the medical expert, the trust is collaborating with the National Institutes of Health and GlaxoSmithKline in the United States and testing will soon begin in Oxford, England, as well as two other African countries.
“The vaccine that is being tested in Oxford, and then in The Gambia and Mali, is being given to the consortium by NIH. It was originally developed by a company called Okairos, which was taken over by GSK last year.
“We are delighted that both NIH and GSK have been very open to sharing the vaccine and information about it with Oxford consortium, recognising that by sharing we can collectively speed development,” he said. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com