A study published July 13, 2015 in the Journal of Clinical investigation demonstrated that an inhaled vaccine created by a team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and the National Institutes of Health protected primates against the Ebola virus.
The vaccine was aerosolized using a nebulizer and delivered through a mask to a group of anesthetized rhesus macaques, which showed a strong immune response.
A single aerosol dose of the vaccine provided 100% protection against the Ebola virus, leading the authors to conclude that, “Aerosol vaccination represents a useful and feasible vaccination mode that can be implemented with ease in a filovirus disease outbreak situation.”
Senior author Alex Bukreyev of UTMB commented, “This study demonstrates successful aerosol vaccination against a viral hemorrhagic fever for the first time. A single-dose aerosol vaccine would enable both prevention and containment of Ebola infections, in a natural outbreak setting where healthcare infrastructure is lacking or during bioterrorism and biological warfare scenarios.”
According to UTMB, the researchers will advance the vaccine to a Phase 1 clinical trial once the FDA approves an Investigational New Drug Application.
Read the UTMB press release.
Read the JCI article.
