THE first results from the trial of an Ebola vaccine have shown it is well tolerated and provokes an immune response.

Sixty volunteers were vaccinated at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute in September and November last year.

Mum-of-two Ruth Atkins, from Marcham, near Abingdon, became the first person in the world to be injected with the Ebola gene.

The institute’s Prof Adrian Hill, who led the trial, said: “The vaccine was well tolerated. Its safety profile is pretty much as we had hoped.”

The study of trial results has shown the vaccine is suitable for further testing in West Africa.

The aim is to learn whether the vaccine offers protection against the disease, which has killed more than 8,000 people in the current outbreak.

Last week about 300 doses of the vaccine were shipped to Liberia in West Africa by manufacturers GSK. Oxford University scientists have also begun testing a booster vaccine in a second trial.

Prof Hill added: “The speed at which all this is happening is remarkable. We would especially like to thank all the volunteers.

“They continue to take time out of their busy lives to give blood samples at regular intervals so we can understand more about their immune responses, having received the vaccine.

Whether we have a vaccine that is safe, effective and works, we won’t know for a while yet.”

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