It raises the hope that a human vaccine can now be developed using the similar approach. Although other viral diseases claim more lives each year, Ebola is greatly feared because of the way it can sweep through a population.
Victims die very quickly, suffering severe pain, high fever and extensive internal bleeding.
A recent outbreak in Uganda has killed more than 150 people to date. Although much more work needs to be done, we hope this moves us closer to new vaccines and treatments for Ebola and other viruses. The new vaccine was tested at a high-containment facility run by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers, who report their work in the journal Nature, exposed eight macaques to a lethal dose of Ebola. Only the four animals given the new vaccine survived.