A Winnipeg laboratory has developed an Ebola vaccine that, when administered to someone within days of exposure to the virus, has a perfect track record of protecting them from infection.
The discovery is being hailed by the World Health Organization as the world鈥檚 most effective tool at fighting the Zaire strain of the virus -- the deadliest strain of Ebola.
The findings, published Thursday in The Lancet, could signal the beginning of the end of the Ebola virus, which has killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa since the 2014 outbreak.
"I really believe that now we have a tool which would allow (us) to control a new outbreak of Ebola of the Zaire strain," said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, a WHO assistant director-general who was the study's lead author. "It's the first vaccine for which efficacy has been shown."
The experimental vaccine was developed by the Canadian government at Winnipeg鈥檚 National Microbiology Lab. In 2015, it was administered to more than 5,800 participants in Guinea as the virus was beginning to die out. All participants had some contact with a new Ebola patient and received the vaccine within a few days or three weeks.
None of the participants who were vaccinated immediately contracted the disease, and just 23 cases emerged from those who received delayed vaccination.
Scientists who helped develop the breakthrough vaccine had been working on a solution for 15 years. Dr. Theresa Tam of the Public Health Agency of Canada called the medical finding 鈥渁 game changer.鈥�
鈥淥ne of the weapons that we have against similar outbreaks in the future, so it is really, really exciting and a very proud Canadian moment,鈥� Tam told 麻豆传媒.
Before the vaccine is approved by health regulators for widespread use, there are still some major outstanding questions -- namely, how long the protection lasts.
Experts behind the finding expect the vaccine will provide the blueprints for future vaccines to be developed for the Sudan strain of Ebola and the Lassa and Marburg viruses, which are similar to Ebola.
鈥淚t provides a new platform to vaccinate, so a new strategy of vaccination, that now can be adapted to other diseases,鈥� said Dr. Gary Kobinger of Laval University鈥檚 Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases, who was involved in developing the vaccine.
In March 2016, the WHO terminated its public health emergency designation for Ebola.
With a report from CTV Manitoba Bureau Chief Jill Macyshon
