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Canada shipping 800 vials of experimental Ebola vaccine

Canada sending two-thirds of its supply of the experimental vaccine to WHO amid ongoing clinical trials.

By Kristen Butler

OTTAWA, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Canada said Saturday it will begin shipping 800 vials of its experimental Ebola vaccine to the World Health Organization in Geneva on Monday, Oct. 20.

The Public Health Agency of Canada is conducting human clinical trials to refine dosage and safety guidelines in cooperation with the United States at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, with trial results expected in December.

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"This vaccine, the product of many years of scientific research and innovation, could be an important tool in curbing the outbreak," said Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Gregory Taylor. "We will continue to work closely with the WHO to address some of the ethical and logistical issues around using this experimental vaccine in the fight against Ebola."

Meanwhile, Canada is shipping 800 vials of the experimental drug, or about two-thirds of the country's inventory, to the WHO to aid efforts to curb the Ebola outbreak.

"Canada views this experimental Ebola vaccine as a global resource and in the interest of global public health, we are sharing it with our international partners to help address the Ebola outbreak in West Africa," Canada's Minister of Health Rona Ambrose said in a news release.

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The vaccine, called VSV-EBOV, was developed over more than a decade at the health agency's National Microbiology Laboratory. Due to the sensitive nature of the vaccine, which requires being packed in dry ice and kept at minus 80 degrees Celsius, Canada will be sending three separate shipments.

The latest estimates count more than 4,500 deaths from Ebola virus disease. More than 9,200 confirmed, suspected and probable cases have been reported in seven countries, including the United States. The west African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have the majority of cases and most widespread transmission.

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