Ebola, originating from West Africa, had quite rightfully caused a scare worldwide with its highly contagious nature and low mortality rate. In the wake up the dilemma of curing people or saving the the population at risk, scientists were brave enough to start testing and researching to find the perfect vaccine, which would eliminate ebola altogether; much like small pox.

This experiment has produced an experimental vaccine which has, till now, showed 100% effectiveness in both Guinea and 4,123 humans since March 2015. This research was carried out collectively by international teams from the World Health Organization, the Guinean Health Ministry, Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the nonprofit Epicentre research center, among many others.

The technique which has been used for successful protection of the subjects of the study, is called the “ring vaccination strategy”, in which, all the known contacts of a subject were inoculated, thereby creating a ring of inoculation around the disease, and inhibiting its spread. This same technique was used in the eradication of small pox.

VSV-EBOV has been successful among the trial patients, but its effectiveness of protect larger population is yet to be proved. This property to keeping large group of populations safe is called “herd immunity” and is the main property, without which the vaccine would fail.

This trial is had some controversies and protests governing it in the beginning, as people questioned its ethical grounds and the lack of placebos used in the experiment.

But haters gonna hate, and Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust, a major supporter of the research commented, “The fact that that the trial still achieved positive results in spite of various constraints and limitations, actually vindicates the design and approach taken to the study.”

It is rumored that the vaccine will be used to protect the people of future outbreaks of deadly ebola, rather than, dole out the vaccine to everyone as complete immunisation. Regardless of how it is actually used in the coming times, the speed and diligence with which the vaccine was developed at a time of catastrophe, marks this as a major victory.

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Author:Technology Blog