Experimental Ebola vaccine processed in Maryland

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says an experimental Ebola vaccine is being processed at a facility in Frederick.

The Frederick News-Post (http://bit.ly/Zvoohg [1] ) reported Thursday that the vaccine is a joint project between the federal agency and GlaxoSmithKline.

Agency spokeswoman Jennifer Routh says the active ingredients are sent to the plant on Geoffrey Way, where they are put into vials and prepared for use.

Routh says the vaccine is for use in clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, about 30 miles away. She says the trials involving human subjects began last month.

Routh says the vaccine includes parts of two Ebola subspecies called Zaire and Sudan. The World Health Organization says the Zaire subspecies is causing most of the current outbreak in West Africa.

___

Information from: The Frederick (Md.) News-Post, http://www.fredericknewspost.com [2]