Ebola Update - Noon Briefing (05 March 2015)

United Nations - Ebola Update by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.
EBOLA
Meanwhile, on Ebola, the World Health Organization announced today the launch of a Phase III trial in Guinea to test the VSV-EBOV vaccine and check its effectiveness to prevent Ebola.
This phase will start on Saturday, with the Health Ministry of Guinea, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Epicentre and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), and is based on promising data from initial clinical trials.
Vaccination will take place in the areas of Basse Guinée, the region which currently has the highest number of cases in that country.
The objectives of the trial are two-fold: one to assess if the vaccine protects the contacts who were vaccinated and if vaccinating the contacts will create a buffer - or ring of protected individuals - around the index case to prevent further spread of the infection.
Vaccination will also be proposed to frontline workers in the area where the trials will take place.