Hopes Of Finding A Vaccine For Ebola Draws Nearer.

The World Health Organization is pressing for
a vaccine to combat the spread of Ebola,
hoping to prepare two versions by January.
On the ground in West Africa, Germany's Red
Cross has made a desperate call for help.
Tens of thousands of doses of experimental
Ebola vaccines could be available for "real-
world" testing in West Africa as soon as
January as long as they are deemed safe, a
top World Health Organization (WHO) official
said Tuesday.
Dr. Marie Paule Kieny, an assistant director
general for the WHO, said clinical trials either
underway or planned in Europe, Africa and the
US were expected to produce preliminary
safety data on two vaccines by December.
If the vaccines are declared safe, Kieny said
they would be used in trials in West Africa
beginning in January to test their efficacy
among tens of thousands - but not millions -
of people.
"I'm not suggesting at this moment that there
would be mass vaccination campaigns at
population levels starting in 2015," she said,
adding that none of the volunteers who take
part in the trials could contract Ebola from the
testing.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has already
killed over 4,500 people, mostly in Liberia,
Guinea and Sierra Leone, since it emerged late
last year. Experts have said the world could
face 10,000 new cases of Ebola a week in two
months if authorities don't take stronger steps
to fight the deadly virus.