Cincinnati Children's Hospital is starting a clinical trial of vaccines against Ebola.
The study is sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.
Cincinnati Children's is one of nine funded vaccine and treatment evaluation units. The trial will test two experimental vaccines together for their safety and ability to produce an immune response in healthy volunteer participants.
This study will enroll up to 60 volunteers 18 to 45 years old, who will be monitored closely for adverse events for six months after initial vaccination during at least 12 clinic visits.
During the clinic visits, the volunteers will get blood tests to assess potential immune responses to both experimental vaccines. Each volunteer will participate in the trial for about seven months.
"Researchers are looking for new ways to stop these outbreaks and to treat people who become infected and develop Ebola virus disease. The development of preventive vaccines for Ebola is a top global public health priority," said lead trial investigator Paul Spearman, MD.
An outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo includes more than 700 confirmed and probable Ebola cases.