Ebola vaccine could change mortality rates for infected peopleExBulletin

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Epidemics of the deadly Ebola virus flare up in parts of Africa almost every year. This virus kills about half of those infected. But new research shows that vaccines already in use offer even more protection than previously thought. This is science reporter Ari Daniel.

ARI DANIEL, BYLINE: Ebola is no joke. Tomori Oyewale is a virologist currently retired from Redeemers University, Nigeria. During his career, he investigated outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. According to Tomori, people infected with Ebola have a ghostly appearance.

Oyewale Tomori: Bleeding from an orifice. they are weak. they can't move. For those who have experienced it, it is a very traumatic experience.

Daniel: And about half of the time, it's fatal. For years, there wasn't much that could be done. But over time, researchers have developed ways to fight back, including better treatments and two vaccines, one of which expresses one of Ebola's key proteins.

REBECCA COULBORN: So, if that person is then exposed to Ebola, their immune system will recognize the viral proteins.

DANIEL: Rebecca Coleborn is an epidemiologist at Epicenter, the medical research arm of Médecins Sans Frontières.

COULBORN: And this awareness primes the immune system to attack the virus and protect people from Ebola virus disease.

DANIEL: Coleborn said the vaccine will not be administered as part of a mass immunization campaign. It is being used strategically in areas where Ebola is resurging.

Colebourne: This has traditionally been done with contacts of Ebola cases, contacts of contacts, and health care workers.

Daniel: It's called ring vaccination. Vaccines have now been shown to be highly effective in reducing the risk of infection. But what the researchers wanted to know was what would happen to people who were vaccinated during the outbreak but ended up getting infected with Ebola anyway. Can vaccination prevent deaths? They are focusing on the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2018 to 2020. Even though the outbreak occurred in the midst of a brutal conflict zone, health officials were able to keep meticulous records.

COULBORN: Throughout the Ebola outbreak, they standardized, harmonized and compiled lists of all admissions to Ebola medical facilities.

Daniel: This list included about 2,300 patients. Coleborn now knows whether and when each person was vaccinated before they became ill. She then compared her two groups. The results were amazing. The risk of death among vaccinated people was reduced by more than half.

COULBORNE: The mortality rate for unvaccinated patients was 56%, while the mortality rate for vaccinated patients was 25%. That's a big deal.

Daniel: And this was regardless of when someone was vaccinated before symptoms appeared, whether it was just a few days or more than three weeks.

COULBORN: So, while it's most beneficial to get vaccinated as soon as possible, we know that it's better to get vaccinated late than never.

Daniel: The research results are published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Tomori Oyewale appears here again, but he was not involved in the research.

Tomori: For those of us involved in Ebola research, this is really exciting news.

DANIEL: Tomori says vaccination campaigns are important not only before an outbreak, but also during it. For Rebecca Coleborn, the results are welcome news in the fight against this terrible disease.

Coleborn: I would say working in this field has become much more hopeful.

Daniel: We now have a vaccine that gives us a great chance of surviving Ebola. I'm Ari Daniel, for NPR News.

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