Russia and Rusal complete Ebola vaccinations in Guinea

The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and domestic aluminium producer Rusal have completed vaccinations against Ebola virus in the Republic of Guinea.

During the testing programme, as many as 2,000 participants were administered with GamEvac-Combi vaccines. Health and development of immunity in these people will be monitored over one year.

Currently in the last testing phase, GamEvac-Combi has been created at the Gamalei Federal Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russia’s health ministry.

The vaccine is developed using a biotechnology technique instead of the pathogenic Ebola virus. It is based on genetic material of an adenovirus and vesicular canker virus.

"The centre has shown the best results in terms of the number of Guinean persons wholly recovered: 62.5% of the SDCEM patients with a confirmed Ebola fever diagnosis have been successfully treated."

This genetic material is considered safe for humans and contains a modified gene with information on GP protein structure of Ebola virus.

Data from the testing programme in Guinea is intended to support international certification of the vaccine, allowing its use by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other entities to prevent the spread of Ebola.

The vaccination was conducted at the Scientific Diagnostic Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology (SDCEM), which was built by Rusal in 2015.

Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Veronika Skvortsova said: "Currently the vaccine is administered to the Russian medics and other specialists going to the regions where there is a high risk of Ebola contagion.

"During the Ebola outbreak, the centre has shown the best results in terms of the number of Guinean persons wholly recovered: 62.5% of the SDCEM patients with a confirmed Ebola fever diagnosis have been successfully treated."

In pre-clinical and clinical studies, the GamEvac-Combi vaccine is said to have demonstrated a favourable safety profile, along with ability to stimulate the immune system efficiently, compared to foreign vaccines.

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