RantCrush Top 5: December 27, 2016

The Ebola virus has been around for some time, but the worst outbreak yet struck West Africa in 2013 and killed more than 11,000 people. The symptoms of the virus are similar to those of the stomach flu but with intense internal and external bleeding. There’s no real “cure” for Ebola, and the disease boasts a very high fatality rate, making it one of the scariest illnesses in the world. But now, scientists have created a vaccine that seems to be highly effective.

Scientists unveil successful Ebola vaccine https://t.co/UOCKxIlaSb pic.twitter.com/F6Y3INYIFl

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) December 26, 2016

“We were able to estimate the efficacy of the vaccine as being 100 percent in a trial,” said Ira Longini, a biostatistician at the University of Florida. He and his colleagues tested the vaccine on 4,000 people in Guinea last year, while the virus was still spreading there rapidly. It worked perfectly.

This is great news as vaccines normally take up to a decade to develop. Though no vaccine is perfect, and it hasn’t been tested on enough people to be absolutely certain, this breakthrough has the potential to prevent future deadly outbreaks.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.