The horrible Ebola outbreak in West Africa appears to be nearing its end, after killing about 10,000 people and infecting 24,000. That's great news — with one exception: No Ebola means no way to effectively test the experimental vaccines and antivirals rushed into development to handle the waning outbreak, and the next one.
"We just don't have sufficient cases," World Health Organization official Dr. Bruce Aylward tells the Los Angeles Times. For a Phase II clinical trial, 200 to 300 patients are typically needed, and for a more robust Phase III trial, that number grows to 2,000-3,000, the Food and Drug Administration says. Earlier testing of the drugs was hampered by disagreements over how to conduct the trials and whether it would be ethical to use placebos for a control group.
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