Russian Vaccine Against Ebola Waiting for Second Phase of Clinical Tests

A vaccine against Ebola disease, developed by Russia's Vector Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology, is being approved by the Russian Ministry of Heathcare and waiting for the second phase of trials, the acting general director of the center said Thursday.

NOVOSIBIRSK (Sputnik) — In May, Anna Popova, the head of Russia's consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, said that the Russian vaccine against Ebola disease had passed the first phase of clinical tests on 60 volunteers and had shown its effectiveness.

"The vaccine has passed the first phase of clinical trials, it is now being approved by the Russian Ministry of Healthcare. We are waiting for the second phase of [trials]," Valery Mikheyev told reporters on the sidelines of the Technoprom 2016 international forum in the Russian city of Novosibirsk.

The most recent Ebola outbreak started in December 2013 in Guinea and later spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The virus has claimed the lives of over 11,000 people, according to WHO estimates.

A week ago, the WHO declared the end to the Ebola outbreak in Guinea.