Ebola Outbreak 2014 News Update, Watchlist & Death Toll: Nose Spray Vaccines? Offers 100% Protection in Monkeys

A laboratory at the University of Texas in Austin has developed a needle-free Ebola vaccine that can be administered through nasal spray, NBC News reports.

According to NBC News, the vaccine uses a genetically engineered common cold virus to carry a tiny piece of Ebola DNA. The vaccine saved the lives of nine Ebola infected monkeys it was tested on. The nose spray vaccine reportedly protected the animals 100 percent even after a year of being vaccinated.

"The nasal vaccine targets cells in the nasal passages and in the lungs, and caused a body-wide immune system response. It affects what are called the mucosa, and means protection against the virus entering the eyes, nose and mouth, as well as through a cut in the skin," reports NBC News.

However, Maria Croyle, who developed the vaccine with her team at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Pharmacy, stated that the research cannot move along because of the lack of funding. Croyle told NBC News that she and her team cannot find the resources to continue the study.

In the NBC News report, Croyle also added that the logical next stage for the vaccine is to be tested on people. Croyle stated that she and her team have been developing the vaccine for seven years, and they think that it would be easier to administer to patients. Croyle believes that accidental needle injuries are also the cause why health workers get infected with Ebola.

"Nasal administration creates a stronger line of defense," Croyle said, as quoted by NBC News. Croyle also added that her team is seeking a drug company or the federal government to assist them in developing the vaccine.

On the other hand, the director-general of World Health Organization (W.H.O.) criticized the drug industry for its poor progress in developing Ebola vaccines, NY Times reports.

In a speech at a regional conference held at Cotonou, Benin, Dr. Margaret Chan criticized drug companies, stating that the reason an Ebola vaccine has not yet been found is because of the drive for profit, along with the neglect of public health.

"A profit-driven industry does not invest in products for markets that cannot pay," Chan said, as cited by NY Times. "W.H.O. has been trying to make this issue visible for ages. Now people can see for themselves."

According to an additional report from The Independent, Chan stated that the "long-standing WHO complaints about the lack of investment in both vaccine development and the healthcare systems of poor states had 'fallen on deaf ears for decades.' But the current global Ebola panic put the arguments 'out there with consequences that all the world can see, every day, on prime time TV news'."

Ebola was first discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo back in 1976, according to the NY Times. Nearly 40 decades have passed and there are still no vaccines available to impede Ebola. Chan said that there was no motivation to develop a vaccine because the virus was then confined to impoverished African countries. It was only this year when Ebola became a wider threat that vaccines for the deadly virus started being developed.

"At least 13,567 people are known to have contracted the Ebola virus in the latest outbreak, and 4,951 have died, according to the latest data on the W.H.O. website, which was updated on Friday," the NY Times reports. Majority of the cases appeared in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

As of now, at least six different vaccine trials are currently being tested - three in the United States, one in Britain, one in Mali, and one in Switzerland, NBC News reports. The Independent adds that the most promising vaccine is the GlaxoSmithKline's ChAd3.

These possible vaccines are now being rushed through development that usually takes up to 10 years. However, The Independent reports that even the most promising vaccine will not be ready until the end of next year because it has to undergo testing for safety and efficacy.