HOPE IN SIGHT? : Canada to send experimental Ebola vaccine to World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday....news release said Canada will send 800 vials of its experimental vaccine in three separate shipments.

Saturday, October 18, 2014 | 2:14 PM  Jamaica Observer  

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — 

The Canadian government said it will start shipping its experimental Ebola vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday for possible use in the West African countries hardest hit by the outbreak.

The government said in a news release Saturday that the Public Health Agency of Canada is supplying the vaccine to the UN agency in Geneva. The WHO is the international coordinating body for battling the Ebola outbreak which has killed more than 4,500 people in West Africa.

The news release said Canada will send 800 vials of its experimental vaccine in three separate shipments.

The WHO will consult with its partners, including health authorities from the affected countries, to determine how best to distribute and use the vaccine, taking into consideration concerns about using an experimental vaccine on people.

Human testing of the Canadian-made vaccine began last week in the US Twenty vials of the vaccine were sent to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland for testing on about 40 healthy volunteers, Canada's Health Minister Rona Ambrose said last Monday.

The Phase 1 trial will determine if the vaccine known as VSV-EBOV is safe for human use. It will also determine the proper dosage level and test for possible side effects.

Studies have shown the vaccine works in primates both to prevent infection when given before exposure and to increase survival chances when given quickly after exposure.

Canadian health officials said results from the human trial are expected by December. more