It has been almost two months since the latest outbreak of Ebola in Africa was reported, with the situation escalating to a public health emergency soon after on May 17. When this happened, we started to see many countries ramping up their effort to combat the virus, including the UK, who began work on creating a vaccine for the disease at the University of Oxford.
In the eight weeks that have followed, this vaccine has reached a state where it is ready to go through human trials. According to BBC News, the first of four vaccines are being prepared, with only one ready to go into clinical trials as it stands, with volunteers being recruited in the weeks ahead.
As for why a vaccine is of such importance in this instance, the latest outbreak comes from the Bundibugyo strain of the disease, which doesn't have any approved drugs or vaccines as of the moment. There are vaccines for other recent strains of Ebola, but each strain acts and operates differently, leading to the need for separate treatments for each version.
The trial which will soon be happening will include 50 adults aged between 18-55, and should it prove to be effective, the aim will be for the vaccine to be rolled out to Uganda for trials in Africa too.