Human clinical trial of Ebola vaccine begins.

• Position: Medicine & Health

Human testing of a second investigational Ebola vaccine candidate is underway at the National Institutes of Health's Clinical Center, Bethesda, Md. Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) are conducting the early phase trial to evaluate the vaccine, called VSV-ZEBOV, for safety and its ability to generate an immune system response in healthy adults who are given two intramuscular doses, called a prime-boost strategy. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) simultaneously is testing the vaccine candidate as a single dose at its Clinical Trials Center, Silver Spring, Md.

"The need for a vaccine to protect against Ebola infection is urgent," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci. "NIH welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Department of Defense to conduct human clinical tests of a promising--and hopefully, successful--Ebola vaccine candidate."

Early human testing of another investigational Ebola vaccine co-developed by NIAID began in early September. Initial data on safety and immunogenicity (the capacity to generate an immune response) from clinical trials are expected by the end of 2014.

VSV-Zebov is based in part on a genetically...