The downside of beating Ebola: No way to prove vaccines

Liberia is very close to being declared Ebola-free

(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

published 10 March 2015

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.

The lack of proven drugs will be a problem when the next Ebola outbreak hits. But it's probably a downside the people of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea are happy to be saddled with.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.