Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have developed a quick-acting single-dose vaccine for the Ebola strain that has killed more than 10,000 people in West Africa.
UTMB developed the vaccine with biotechnology company Profectus BioSciences, and the vaccine has been tested it in the Galveston (Texas) National Laboratory, the only fully operational Biosafety Level 4 laboratory on an academic campus in the country.
The vaccine — developed by the multidisciplinary team using a nonhuman primate model — employs a virus not harmful to humans called vesicular stomatitis virus that had a part of the Ebola virus inserted into it to trigger an immune response.
"These findings may pave the way for the identification and manufacture of safer, single-dose, high-efficiency vaccines to combat current and future Ebola outbreaks," said Thomas Geisbert, PhD, UTMB professor of microbiology and immunology. "We are excited at the possibility of helping develop a way to stop this deadly disease. We have a lot of more work to accomplish but it's important to note that this is a big step."
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