Scientists warn against complacency on Ebola vaccines

AFP                                                                                                                    Feb. 17, 2015

London--  A team of leading international scientists on Tuesday called for new Ebola vaccines to be made available in months rather than years and warned against complacency after a reduction in infection rates.

(Scroll down for link to complete report.)

"Despite falling infection rates in west Africa, the risk that the current Ebola outbreak may not be brought completely under control remains," said Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, Britain's biggest medical charity.

"The accelerated development of candidate vaccines... is essential," said Farrar, who co-chairs a group of 26 international experts on vaccine development.

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http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-warn-against-complacency-ebola-vaccines-004937305.html;_ylt=AwrBEiHDVuNUhDcAfsPQtDMD

Recommendations for Accelerating the Development of Ebola Vaccines: Report & Analysis

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DESEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY
To help address this crucial public health undertaking, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota and the Wellcome Trust today published  (click for link) "Recommendations for Accelerating the Development of Ebola Vaccines: Report & Analysis" to analyze the issues and challenges involved and offer expert recommendations....

The recommendations will help guide global efforts to expedite the availability of effective and safe Ebola vaccines to help bring an end to the current epidemic in West Africa, in addition to providing a framework to ensure the world is better prepared for inevitable future outbreaks of Ebola and other deadly infectious diseases.

Co-chaired by Wellcome Trust Director Jeremy Farrar, MD, PhD, and CIDRAP Director Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, the expert panel proffers 48 specific recommendations (listed in Appendix B of the report). They include advice that Ebola vaccine manufacturing could be accelerated by streamlining production using existing vaccine technologies and that phase 2/3 clinical trials should be continued even if definitive data on vaccine efficacy cannot be guaranteed.

See complete press release

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/recommendations-accelerating-development-ebola-vaccines-report-analysis

Read complete report

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/public/downloads/ebola_virus_team_b_report-final-021615.pdf