Vaccine against Marburg virus is successfully tested on monkeys

Scientists are reporting an important milestone in research on vaccines against the deadly Marburg and &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/2000/10/30/557.html' target=_blank>Ebola viruses, claiming that they have developed a new type of vaccine that prevents the diseases in monkeys.

But it will take five or six years to show if the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/10/07/37824_.html ' target=_blank>experimental vaccines are safe and effective, says Dr Steven Jones, one of the Canadian scientists behind the study.

"Monkeys, when they are infected, suffer almost the identical disease to humans," Jones said. "If we can protect them using this vaccine ... then this gives us a good deal of confidence that this will work in humans."

Marburg and Ebola viruses are pathogens that are spread by contact with bodily fluids, including blood, sweat and saliva, from sick patients. Most victims die after massive bleeding within days of infection, reports Xinhuanet.