WHO's Chan says initial results from Ebola vaccine trial 'promising'

Reuters
Scientists at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg, Manitoba, prepare an experimental Ebola vaccine for shipment to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva in this undated handout picture released October 18, 2014. REUTERS/Public Health Agency of Canada/Handout

GENEVA (Reuters) - Initial results from an Ebola vaccine trial in Guinea are "exciting" and "promising" and suggest the shot could help bring an end to West Africa's epidemic, World Health Organization director general Margaret Chan said on Friday. "If proven effective, this is going to be a game changer, and it will change the management of the current Ebola outbreak and future outbreaks," Chan told reporters at a news conference. Data from a trial of an Ebola vaccine known as VSV-EBOV developed by Merck and NewLink Genetics are expected to be published later on Friday. (Reporting by Tom Miles, writing by Kate Kelland, editing by Dominic Evans)