TOPIC
Ebola
vaccine passes safety test in Geneva trial
APR 1, 2015 -
23:00
The experimental
Ebola vaccine partially tested at Geneva University Hospital (HUG) is safe and
effective, results show. Attention now turns to follow-up trials in West Africa
in the race to find a cure.
According to the
results of the phase one clinical trial carried out at the HUG and at partner
institutions in Europe and Africa, one of the most promising vaccine
candidates, VSV-ZEBOV, triggers the production of antibodies capable of
neutralising the Ebola virus.
These results,
published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, were based on 158 volunteers
who participated in the trials that begun in November 2014.
Most of the side
effects from the vaccine were only “mild to moderate”, such as fever and muscle
pain for one or two days.
The vaccine was
developed by Canada’s public health agency and is licensed to two US companies,
NewLink and Merck. The product had previously been tested on monkeys. Several
other experimental vaccine candidates are currently in the pipeline at
different stages of development.
Vaccines
normally take years to develop, but the process has been fast-tracked due to
the urgency. The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than
10,300 people.
“It was a race
against time,” explained Claire-Anne Siegrist, principal investigator and head
of the vaccinology centre at the HUG.
“On September 10
we officially accepted the mandate from the World Health Organization (WHO).
One month later the protocol was ready and submitted to Swissmedic [the Swiss
Agency for Therapeutic Products] and one month later we had the authorisation
to start the vaccination trial. I've never seen that before. It's not possible
to go any faster.”
African trials
Attention now
turns to West Africa: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Phase three clinical
trials recently launched there will determine whether the immune response
triggered by vaccines like VSV-ZEBOV is able to protect the population against
the Ebola virus, and whether large-scale campaigns are feasible.
Liberia has
largely succeeded in getting its Ebola outbreak under control and was on its
way to completing the 42 days without a new case – necessary to declare the
country free of the disease – when it recorded one infection last month.
Sierra Leone has
seen a fairly steady decline in cases in recent weeks. But the disease remains
stubbornly entrenched in Guinea more than a year after the outbreak started and
authorities are now stepping up efforts to eliminate the disease.
“The question is
not resolved,” said Laurent Kaiser, head of the infectious diseases department
at HUG. “Most new cases have not been identified as coming from an established
chain of transmission, which poses lots of problems. The epidemic is clearly
not under control and another reason to advance with the vaccine.”
‘Excellent response’
Last week the US
National Institutes of Health reported that two experimental Ebola vaccines,
one from GlaxoSmithKline and the other from Merck/NewLink, “appear to be safe”
part way through a clinical trial being conducted in Liberia, which began on
February 2.
In neighbouring
Guinea, testing also started using the experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-ZEBOV on
affected communities last week. The WHO plans to vaccinate around 10,000
people. Health workers will immunise the high-risk contacts around Ebola
patients, thereby creating a “ring of immunity” around them. The vaccine has
already been administered to some volunteer healthcare workers. The WHO said
the first teams had received an “excellent response” from residents.
If the number of
Ebola cases holds steady or increases, the WHO believes the Guinea study could
be completed in six to eight weeks. But if the cases sharply decline, the
outcome of the trial could encounter difficulties. Experiments need scores of
patients with the virus in order to produce statistically significant results.
Vaccine tests
are due to start on 5,000-6,000 front-line health workers in Sierra Leone this
month.
SUMMARY
OF THE TOPIC
An experimental Ebola vaccine tested
on humans in Europe and Africa sparks the production of the antibodies needed
to neutralise the deadly virus.
There is no licensed treatment or
vaccine for Ebola, and the World Health Organization last year endorsed rushing
potential ones through trials in a bid to stem the epidemic still simmering in
west Africa.
That results, published on Wednesday
in the New England Journal of Medicine, were based on 158 volunteers who
participated in the trials that begun in November 2014.
Initial clinical trials of the
VSV-ZEBOV candidate vaccine, manufactured by the Public Health Agency of Canada
and developed by Merck, show that it "triggers the production of
antibodies capable of neutralising the Ebola virus," the Geneva University
Hospitals (HUG) said in a statement.
A study of the phase 1 clinical trials
on 158 volunteers in Switzerland, Germany, Gabon and Kenya, published in the
New England Journal of Medicine, also showed that the even small amounts of the
vaccine could be effective.
Since the Ebola outbreak began in
Guinea, the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 10,300
people.
Most of the side effects from the
vaccine were only “mild to moderate”, such as fever and muscle pain for one or
two days.
Liberia has largely succeeded in
getting its Ebola outbreak under control and was on its way to completing the
42 days without a new case – necessary to declare the country free of the
disease – when it recorded one infection last month.
Last week the US National Institutes
of Health reported that two experimental Ebola vaccines, one from
GlaxoSmithKline and the other from Merck/NewLink, “appear to be safe” part way
through a clinical trial being conducted in Liberia, which began on February 2.
In neighbouring Guinea, testing also
started using the experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-ZEBOV on affected communities
last week. The WHO plans to vaccinate around 10,000 people. Health workers will
immunise the high-risk contacts around Ebola patients. The vaccine has already
been administered to some volunteer healthcare workers. The WHO said the first
teams had received an excellent response from residents.
If the number of Ebola cases holds
steady or increases, the WHO believes the Guinea study could be completed in
six to eight weeks. But if the cases sharply decline, the outcome of the trial
could encounter difficulties. Experiments need scores of patients with the
virus in order to produce statistically significant results.
Vaccine tests are due to start on
5,000-6,000 front-line health workers in Sierra Leone this month.
GRAMMAR
Modal Verb
|
Funcion
|
Examples from the Poem
|
Other Examples
|
Will
|
To
express the willingness or invitation
|
1. Phase three clinical trials recently
launched there will
determine whether the immune response triggered by vaccines like VSV-ZEBOV is
able to protect …
2. Health workers will immunise the high-risk contacts around Ebola patients
|
1. She will help you if you want.
2. Will you marry me ?
|
Could
|
To
express the permission in the past or the future
|
1. WHO believes the Guinea study could be completed in six to
eight weeks.
2. outcome of the trial could encounter difficulties
|
Could you help me, please?
|
Function
|
Examples from the
Poem
|
Other Examples
|
|
Simple Past Tense
|
|||
Regular Verbs
|
This tense is used to express an
action that is has happened in the past
|
1. The experimental Ebola vaccine
partially tested at Geneva
University Hospital (HUG)
2. According to the results of the
phase one clinical trial carried
out at the HUG
3. Published on Wednesday in the New England
Journal of Medicine
4. were based on 158 volunteers who participated in the trials that begun in November 2014.
5. The vaccine was developed by Canada’s public health agency and is licensed to two US companies
6. The product had previously been tested on monkeys
7. The current Ebola outbreak in West
Africa has killed more than
10,300 people
8. Liberia has largely succeeded in getting its Ebola
outbreak under control
9. when it recorded one infection last month.
10.
Last
week the US National Institutes of Health reported that two experimental Ebola vaccines
11.
testing
also started using the
experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-ZEBOV on affected
communities last week
12.
The
WHO said the first teams had received
an excellent response from residents.
|
I finished work, walked
to the beach, and found a
nice place to swim.
|
Irregular Verbs
|
were based on 158 volunteers who
participated in the trials that begun
in November 2014
|
They never went to school, they always skipped class.
|
|
Function
|
Examples
from the song
|
Other
Examples
|
|
To Be (am, are, is)
|
|||
complementary word in
a sentence that is used to connect from one word to another word
|
1. Several other experimental vaccine
candidates are currently in
the pipeline at different stages of development.
2. whether large-scale campaigns are feasible
3. authorities are now stepping up efforts to eliminate the disease.
4. Vaccine tests are due to start on 5,000-6,000 front-line health workers
in Sierra Leone this month.
5. Geneva University Hospital (HUG) is safe and effective, results
show
6. The question is not resolved
7. The epidemic is clearly not under control and another reason to advance
with the vaccine
|
8. I am a good student
9. She is a singer
|
|
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. where
the experimental Ebola vaccine partially tested in the topic?
a.
Geneva
University Hospital (HUG)
b. Sierra Leone
c. Indonesia
d. US
Company
2.
How
many people were killed by an outbreak of ebola?
a.
10.000
people
b.
9.300
people
c.
10.300
people
d.
9000
people
3.
How
many volunteers who participated in the trial?
a.
100
b.
158
c.
1000
d.
500
4.
The
experimental Ebola vaccine partially …. at Geneva University Hospital (HUG)
a.
Test
b.
Testing
c.
Tester
d.
Tested
5.
….
on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
a.
Showing
b.
Show
c.
Published
d.
Publish
6.
When
you called me I _____ TV.
a.
Watch
b.
was
watching
c.
watched
d.
Watching
7.
When
they _____ out, it was raining.
a.
were
going
b.
went
c.
gone
d.
go
8.
When
I _____ Peter, he was shopping.
a.
see
b.
saw
c.
was
seeing
d.
seen
9.
I
have ______ a beautiful rose for her.
a.
Bring
b.
Bringing
c.
Brought
d.
Brings
10. Cats ____ fast.
a.
Run
b.
Runs
c.
Running
d.
Ran
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