A brave English nurse became the first volunteer to test a new vaccine against the Ebola virus yesterday.
Hopes are resting on the vaccine to halt the epidemic of the virus in west Africa.
The nurse Ruth Atkins, aged 48, now works in NHS management in Oxfordshire.
An hour after receiving the vaccine at Oxford University, she said: "I feel absolutely fine, it felt no different to being vaccinated before going on holiday."
She volunteered after hearing a radio interview.
She said: "I volunteered because the situation in West Africa is so tragic and I thought being part of this vaccination process was something small I could do to hopefully make a huge impact."
The vaccine has been developed by the US National Institutes of Health and the drug giant GlaxoSmithKline and is designed specifically to block the Zaire species of the virus, which has killed thousands in west Africa.
It uses a single protein from the virus so was not expected to cause illness. Some 60 volunteers will test it in Oxford.
Professor Adrian Hill, of the university’s Jenner Institute, said: "Witnessing the events in Africa makes it clear that developing new drugs and vaccines against Ebola should now be an urgent priority.
"It is tremendous that so many people have worked hard to make this trial happen in short time, and I am enormously grateful to those volunteers who have come forward to take part."
UK chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said: "I am delighted to see the UK health research system working together so quickly and effectively for the benefit of patients. This will be a pivotal next step in helping the world fight against the Ebola virus."
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