GlaxoSmithKline's experimental Ebola vaccine could be tested on humans in the UK, US, the Gambia and Mali in the next few weeks, in a race to contain the deadly virus that has claimed more than 1,500 lives in west Africa.
The news came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the Ebola epidemic could eventually exceed 20,000 cases. Bruce Aylward, WHO's assistant director-general for emergency operations, said: "This far outstrips any historic Ebola outbreak in numbers. The largest outbreak in the past was about 400 cases."