On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of the first-ever vaccine for the prevention of Ebola virus in the United States.
Developed by Merck, the vaccine, called Ervebo, has been found effective at preventing Ebola virus disease (EVD), which is caused by a virus called “Zaire ebolavirus” in people 18 and above, according to the FDA.
In the United States, EVD cases are quite rare. The cases have generally occurred in people who were infected by the virus have traveled into the nation when they work closely with health care workers who handle the sickened infected by EVD.
FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation, and International Affairs, Anna Abram, said in a press release, “While the risk of Ebola virus disease in the U.S. remains low, the U.S. government remains deeply committed to fighting devastating Ebola outbreaks in Africa, including the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).”
Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), called the new vaccine “a triumph of American global health leadership.”
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved Ervebo in October. https://www.myhealthyclick.com/worlds-first-ebola-vaccine-gets-crucial-ema-approval/
In the DRC, the Zaire ebolavirus has killed more than 2,000 deaths in the ongoing outbreak. In 2014, more than 11,000 deaths were reported due to Ebola in West Africa.
Ebola is a highly contagious disease and can be transmitted through close contact with blood, bodily fluids and infected tissues of people or wild animals.
The infection can also be transmitted through materials and surfaces that may have been touched by an infected person or animal. Although scientists do not know where the Ebola virus has come from, the virus was first discovered in 1976 near the “Ebola River” in what is now the DRC. Since then, the infection has been spreading from a person to person, leading to major outbreaks in several African countries.
