U.S. approves first Ebola vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday authorized the use of a vaccine developed by Merck to fight the deadly Ebola virus.

How will the vaccine help? The World Health Organization has used it to control outbreaks in some affected West African countries. It has proven 97.5 percent effective at preventing transmission of the virus. The single-dose treatment protects against the most common strain of Ebola in patients 18 years of age or older. In the United States, where Ebola transmission is rare, it will likely be most beneficial to missionaries and other Americans traveling to affected regions.

Dig deeper: Read my report in World Tour on the battle to control the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.