Aug. 25, 2011 Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University,
among other institutions, including the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have developed single vaccines
to protest against both rabies and the Ebola virus. Successfully
tested in mice, these bivalent vaccines have several advantages
over other Ebola candidates that could help speed up development
for use in humans and primates. It's built on the same platform
as the already approved and financially viable rabies vaccine,
and it protects at-risk populations against two viruses, not
just one, making it an effective and ideal public health tool.
"Many Ebola vaccine candidates have been proven effective, but
none are close to licensure," said Matthias Schnell, Ph.D.,
director of the Jefferson Vaccine Center. "One of the challenges
is the market: There's rather limited incentive in creating a
vaccine for Ebola. But these vaccines could change that." The
findings were published ahead of print online August 17 in the
Journal of Virolog