Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
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Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. · May 2017
ReviewA review of Phase I trials of Ebola virus vaccines: what can we learn from the race to develop novel vaccines?
Sporadic outbreaks of Ebola virus infection have been documented since the mid-Seventies and viral exposure can lead to lethal haemorrhagic fever with case fatalities as high as 90%. There is now a comprehensive body of data from both ongoing and completed clinical trials assessing various vaccine strategies, which were rapidly advanced through clinical trials in response to the 2013-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) public health emergency. Careful consideration of immunogenicity post vaccination is essential but has been somewhat stifled because of the wide array of immunological assays and outputs that have been used in the numerous clinical trials. ⋯ Assessment of the safety data, the immunological outputs and the ease of field deployment for the various vaccine modalities will help both the scientific community and policy-makers prioritize and potentially license vaccine candidates. If this can be achieved, the next outbreak of Ebola virus, or other emerging pathogen, can be more readily contained and will not have such widespread and devastating consequences. This article is part of the themed issue 'The 2013-2016 West African Ebola epidemic: data, decision-making and disease control'.
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Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. · May 2017
ReviewWhat we have learnt about the World Health Organization from the Ebola outbreak.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) reputation became irrefutably damaged during the Ebola outbreak, with a general consensus in the global health community that it fell short of its leadership responsibilities. This commentary offers a brief synopsis of the WHO's role during the outbreak and suggests that the disease outbreak demonstrates the tension that exists between the organization's normative and operational roles in health crises. ⋯ Finally, the commentary considers the introduction of the WHO Health Emergency Programme, but suggests that this too may suffer from the same structural concerns that need to be addressed if the WHO is to continue in the role the global health community expects it to play, as both a normative and operational leader in global disease control. This article is part of the themed issue 'The 2013-2016 West African Ebola epidemic: data, decision-making and disease control'.