cAd3-ZEBOV (also known as the NIAID/GSK Ebola vaccine or cAd3-EBO Z) was an experimental

vaccine A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified.

for two

ebolavirus The genus ''Ebolavirus'' (- or ; - or ) is a virological taxon included in the family '' Filoviridae'' (filament-shaped viruses), order ''Mononegavirales''. The members of this genus are called ebolaviruses, and encode their genome in the for ...

es,

Ebola virus ''Zaire ebolavirus'', more commonly known as Ebola virus (; EBOV), is one of six known species within the genus '' Ebolavirus''. Four of the six known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and o ...

and Sudan virus, developed by scientists at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and tested by

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIAID's ...

(NIAID). This vaccine is derived from a chimpanzee adenovirus, Chimp Adenovirus type 3 (ChAd3),

genetically engineered Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

to express

glycoproteins Glycoproteins are proteins which contain oligosaccharide chains covalently attached to amino acid side-chains. The carbohydrate is attached to the protein in a cotranslational or posttranslational modification. This process is known as glycosy ...

from the Zaire and Sudan species of

to provoke an immune response against them. Simultaneous phase 1 trials of this vaccine commenced in September 2014, being administered to volunteers in Oxford and Bethesda. During October the vaccine is being administered to a further group of volunteers in

Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...

. If this phase is completed successfully, the vaccine will be fast tracked for use in the

Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in Western Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and S ...

. In preparation for this, GSK is preparing a stockpile of 10,000 doses.

First British trial

Following ten Americans who received the vaccine in a trial, Ruth Atkins (born 1966) of Oxfordshire, a former nurse with the British

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, was the first British volunteer to receive the experimental

(on September 17, 2014) in a vaccine trial run by

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

researchers and funded by the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

and the UK government. This variant was only designed to protect against

and not Sudan virus.

First British trial

See also

References

Further reading