Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

The EU approves first-ever human Ebola vaccine for public use

At long last!

Alexandru Micu by Alexandru Micu
November 13, 2019
in Science

The European Commission (the EU’s executive branch) has approved a functional Ebola vaccine, Ervbo, for human use. This is the first treatment of its kind to ever show efficacy in humans.

Image via Pixabay.

In an announcement on November 11, the European Commission granted Merck Sharp and Dohme B.V. marketing authorization for Ervebo in Europe. The European Medicines Agency, EMA, first recommended approval of the vaccine in October this year. A functional Ebola vaccine meant for human use has been a goal of the global research community ever since the massive outbreak in West Africa between 2014 and 2016.

A world first

This is the first time a vaccine for the disease that works in humans has been introduced for the dreadful disease. The Ebola virus can cause severe hemorrhagic fever, which involves both a rise in body temperature and massive internal bleeding from blood vessels throughout the body. The virus firsts attacks immune cells, which impairs our body’s early defenses. Eventually, macrophages do start striking back, but as they digest the virus, the cells release proteins that lead to the formation of small blood clots and inflammation, and cause leaks in your blood vessels. This is a very severe process that leads to a patient’s internal organs being starved for oxygen — around 90% of those infected by the virus die in this stage, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) Africa Region Office.

Until now, the only real way to protect yourself against Ebola was to avoid being contaminated — which is obviously hard in a full-blown outbreak. The only thing close to a functional vaccine for humans was a vaccine that worked in macaques, developed by researchers at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory.

The new vaccine works by exposing patients to a form of the virus that can’t cause an infection. Our bodies can thus interact with the pathogen and learn how to fight it when the real virus comes around. It has been tested in an attempt to control Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), showing great promise: the vaccine had an estimated protective efficacy of 97.5% in field studies. That’s a remarkable result in the best of conditions, and especially in the volatile conditions in the DRC, which is still struggling to recover from a series of civil wars.

Now that the European Commission has stamped its approval on the vaccine, there is a lot of interest that other regulatory bodies follow suit. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US is currently reviewing the vaccine for approval and could give the green light sometime in early 2020. However, Merck doesn’t expect the vaccine to make a lot of money: vaccines are, traditionally, not very lucrative, and Ebola is most prominent in poorer countries. The global health community might need to step in and support (i.e. fund) the use of the vaccine for it to reach as many of the people that need it as possible.

Was this helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Related posts:
  1. FDA approves first Ebola treatment
  2. New Ebola case reported hours after West Africa was declared Ebola-free
  3. New vaccine against Ebola is 100% effective in Guinea trial
  4. A vaccine against Ebola gets European green light
  5. Key protein that prevents Ebola outbreak found. Preventive vaccine now in works
Tags: CommissionEbolaEuropeanUnionvaccine

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW