Abstract

A year ago an Ebola outbreak in West-Africa was on the rise, with the number of infected people doubling every four weeks and with no one to predict the final outcome of the epidemic. The outbreak started already in December 2013, but countries with the outbreak delayed reporting to WHO until March 2014. International emergency was declared in August and only in September 2014 did large-scale international help reach the scene. During that time no vaccine or drug against Ebola virus was available. Now the situation has changed radically and the epidemic is finally on the wane. Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea were decleared Ebola free by the end of 2015, but single isolated cases were reported in January and March 2016. Yet compared to the situation a year ago, health care workers have one additional tool at hand to fight against Ebola – an effective vaccine. According to an emergency programme, it is now being offered to all contacts of the new Ebola patients, as studies have shown that it will stop transmission of the virus. No vaccine in history has found its way to practice quicker than the one against Ebola. The article presents an overview of two main Ebola vaccine candidates focusing on how they are being studied and what the status of their registration and currently ongoing emergency use in Guinea.