Statement on the WHO consultation on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines

After 2 days of discussion on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines, more than 150 participants, representing the fields of research and clinical investigation, ethics, legal, regulatory, financing, and data collection, identified several therapeutic and vaccine interventions that should be the focus of priority clinical evaluation at this time. Currently, none of these vaccines or therapies have been approved for human use to prevent or treat EVD. A number of candidate vaccines and therapies have been developed and tested in animal models and some have demonstrated promising results. In view of the urgency of these outbreaks, the international community is mobilizing to find ways to accelerate the evaluation and use of these compounds. Safety in humans is also unknown, raising the possibility of adverse side effects when administered. Use of some of these products is demanding and requires intravenous administration and infrastructure, such as cold chain, and facilities able to offer a good...