NOW TO MEDICAL NEWS IN THE LOOK
AHEAD TO DECEMBER, WHEN A
VACCINE DEVELOPED AT UW-MADISON
WILL START HUMAN TRIALS IN
JAPAN.
THAT'S WHERE UP TO 1,000 DOSES
OF EBOLA VACCINE WILL BE SENT
FROM UW.
THE CLINICAL TRIAL WILL BE LED
BY SOME OF THE SAME UW
SCIENTISTS WHO WORK THE LAB
WHERE THE VACCINE WAS CREATED.
IN 2015 RESEARCHERS REPORTED
MONK CAN CAN
MONKEYS WERE PROTECTED FROM
EBOLA INFECTION.
20,000 PEOPLE DIED IN AFRICAN
COUNTRIES.
UW-MADISON PATHOLOGIST ALHAJI
NJAI IS A NATIVE.
WHAT IS EBOLA AND WHERE DID IT
COME FROM?
- IT'S A VIE VUS. VIRUS.
VERY, VERY DEADLY, EVOLVING OUT
OF CONGO IN CENTRAL AVENUE CA
AND CENTRAL CENTRAL AFRICA.
WE HAD ONE OF THE BIGGEST
OUTBREAKS IN THE WORLD.
- HOW EASILY IS IT SPREAD?
- EBOLA IS VERY DEADLY AND IT'S
NOT AS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AS
OTHERS, BUT IT IS VERY DEADLY
WHEN SOMEBODY GETS IT THROUGH
BODY FLUIDS OR CONTACTS WITH
SWEAT OR SALIVA OR THINGS THAT
ARE COMING OUT OF AN INFECTED
PERSON.
- SO YOU ARE ON OUR WAY TO
SIERRA LEONE TOMORROW.
- RIGHT.
- AND WHAT WILL YOU DO THERE?
- SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK, SO
SINCE 2014, DECEMBER, WE SET UP
A FUNCTIONAL LAB SYSTEM IN
SIERRA LEONE THROUGH A P
ROFESSOR'S GROUP WORKING ON THE
VACCINE, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT
SORT OF THE MOLECULAR CAUSES,
WHY DOES EBOLA KILL, WHY IS IT
SO LETHAL AND WHY DO SOME PEOPLE
SURVIVE IT?
SO TRYING TO UNDERSTAND MORE ON
SORT OF WHAT ARE THE RESPONSES
AROUND IT AND WE MAY BE ABLE TO
DEVELOP MUCH MORE EFFICIENT,
BETTER THERAPIES FOR EBOLA.
- SO IN TERMS OF THE VACCINE,
HOW DOES THAT WORK?
- SO WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS
ACTUALLY -- SO MUCH OF THE
VACCINE IS ABOUT -- WHAT WE HAVE
NOW IS ACTUALLY THE EBOLA VIRUS
MINUS THE GENE RESPONSIBLE FOR
EBOLA TO ATTACH TO HUMAN CELLS.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS JUST
BASICALLY KNOCK OUT THAT GENE
AND THEN WITHOUT THAT GENE, THE
EBOLA VIRUS IS UNABLE TO
REPLICATE AND ALSO UNABLE TO
ATTACH TO HUMAN CELLS.
- SO HOW EXCITING IS THIS
PROSPECT OF A HUMAN VACCINE FOR
EBOLA?
- IT IS HUGE.
IT IS HUGE.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE DEADLY
NATURE OF THIS OUTBREAK IN 2015
AND SURVIVALS AND THE TRAUMA AND
OTHER THINGS, HAVING A VACCINE
THAT WORKS, AND IF WE HAVE TO
WORK IN PHASE ONE IN DECEMBER,
THAT WILL BE TREMENDOUS NEWS FOR
NOT JUST THE MEDICAL WORLD, BUT
ALSO FOR THE PEOPLE OF SIERRA
LEONE AND WEST AFRICA BECAUSE WE
KNOW WHENEVER EBOLA HITS, IT HAS
THE HIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF COMIN.
- HOW WILL THE TRIALS WORK?
WHO WILL GET THAT?
TELL US ABOUT THE PROCESS.
- WE'RE STILL WORKING ON THAT
ASPECT OF IT, SO IT'S STILL --
WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE
CLINICAL TRIALS, AND HOW THAT
WILL BE WORKED OUT.
SO I THINK THAT'S NOT SOMETHING
WE ARE PREPARED YET ON HOW IT'S
GOING TO WORK.
BECAUSE REALLY YOU REALLY WANT
TO BE ABLE TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, IN
A LOT MORE OF THE INFORMATION
AND ASPECT OF THINGS.
BUT RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE A
CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF HOW IT
WILL WORK IN JAPAN.
- AND WHAT IS THE GLOBAL KIND
OF REACTION TO THE IDEA THAT
THIS VACCINE IS OUT THERE AND
MORE THAN DEVELOPED, BUT GOING
TO TRIAL?
- I THINK THAT THIS IS
TREMENDOUS.
IT IS JOUST JUST VERY, VERY GO.
A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE EXCITED
BECAUSE THIS IS A REAL EBOLA
VACCINE BECAUSE WE ARE USING THE
VIRUS AGAINST A FRAGMENT FROM
ANOTHER VIRUS.
SO THIS IS A REAL GOOD
BREAKTHROUGH, BUT ALSO A VERY
NOVEL BREAKTHROUGH FOR THE
MEDICAL WORLD.
- DR. NJAI, THANKS VERY MUCH.
- THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
HAVING ME.