WHO eyes Ebola vaccine by November

The death toll from the Ebola epidemic has climbed above 2,000, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, as it voiced hopes a vaccine could be available in November. The deadly virus has claimed 2,097 lives out of 3,944 people infected in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, since emerging last December, the UN’s health organ said after a two-day crisis meeting in Geneva. Nigeria has recorded another eight deaths out of 22 cases. At least 30 more people have died in a separate outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Results from safety trials for two prototype vaccines should be known in November, the WHO added. “If proven safe, a vaccine could be available in November 2014 for priority use in health-care workers,” it said in a statement. Earlier Friday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon set the goal of stopping the worst-ever outbreak of the disease within six to nine months. The “next few weeks will be crucial,”...