WHO confirms that Ebola vaccine is 100% effective

SÃO PAULO, DEC. 23 (ANSA) -The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed Thursday the effectiveness of the vaccine against Ebola virus after testing in Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Produced by Merck, Sharp & Dohme, the vaccine was named rVSV-ZEBOV and offers 100% protection, according to the scientific journal "The Lancet".

The drug was given to around six thousand people, including adults and children, and 10 days later, everyone was immune to the disease.

Among those who did not receive the drug immediately, 23 cases of the disease were registered.

However, the final results of the study give hope to better protection against the disease that devastated some African countries in 2014, killing more than 11,000 people.

A few months after the first tests, WHO said the preliminary results were an "extremely promising development." The company Merck, Sharp & Dohme has promised to ensure that 300,000 doses of the vaccine will be available in the event of a new outbreak of Ebola. The company is expected to submit the drug for licensing by the end of 2017. (ANSA)