A team of scientists has developed single vaccines to protect against both rabies and the Ebola virus.
Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University, among other institutions, including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, have successfully tested the vaccines in mice.
These bivalent vaccines have several advantages over other Ebola candidates that could help speed up development for use in humans and primates. It’s built on the same platform as the already approved and financially viable rabies vaccine, and it protects at-risk populations against two viruses, not just one, making it an effective and ideal public health tool.
"Many Ebola vaccine candidates have been proven effective, but none are close to licensure,” said Matthias Schnell, Ph.D., director of the Jefferson Vaccine Center. "One of the challenges is the market: There’s rather limited incentive in creating a vaccine for Ebola. But these vaccines could change that,” he added.
The findings were published online August 17 in the Journal of Virology .
