The first human trials of a vaccine against Ebola have been successful, but it will be months, at best, before it can be used to stem the outbreak in West Africa.
The origins of the vaccine go back more than a decade. A chimpanzee cold virus was modified to carry Ebola genetic material conferring protection against the Zaire strain of Ebola. This was shown to be effective in monkeys, although the benefits wore off with time.
Progress was delayed not by technical obstacles but economics. Previous outbreaks were controlled by tracing and quarantining the sick. With the people most endangered also being the least able to pay, funding was limited. Via Business Insider.
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