Specialists say the outbreak of the Ebola epidemic may be stopped thanks to a promising vaccine that is being tested in Mali. A widespread vaccination campaign may follow if the tests prove successful, said vaccine specialist Dr. Samba Ousmane Sow in Bamako, the Malian capital.

Dr. Sow revealed that the vaccine has already tested successfully with two groups of monkeys. All of the monkeys that received the vaccine resisted the Ebola virus.

“The vaccine is now being tested on medical professionals in Mali, the UK and U.S. It will be possible to put an end to the deadly epidemic spreading worldwide,” he told journalists on November 2.

While the epidemic is spreading to other countries other West African countries the vaccine will be used in a larger vaccination campaign in the region. Mali which is bordering one of the most affected countries –Guinea Conakry- announced the first case of Ebola infection in late October.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said several thousand doses of vaccine will be available for West Africa before the end of the first quarter of 2015. In addition to the first three testing countries, the vaccine will also be tested in other countries like Switzerland and Germany. Tests can quickly extend to more West African regions in need of medical assistance, according to WHO.

The international aid group Médecins Sans Frontières requested the vaccines and medications first be tested on medical professionals as emergency action is needed to supply health workers with the promised medications. With medical workers worldwide contracting the virus, the humanitarian organization hopes to see this plan take affect soon.

Civil Society Mobilization

Medical workers welcome the vaccine arrival in Mali where a panic is taking place after the death of the first Ebola patient — a 2-year-old girl — whose infection has been announced last month. The Malian government — which quarantined 43 persons having been in contact with the young girl — said the situation was under control and encouraged citizens to stray away from being fearful.

On a daily basis, the local media provides tips on how to prevent the disease, especially by advising people to avoid shaking hands and washing their hands with soap or other disinfectant products. The threat of Ebola is now a national cause, according to local rap star Mylmo N’Sahel, who via national television, regularly invites his fellow citizens to follow the hygienic messages.

African governments are failing to stop the progression of the epidemic amidst non-educated populations. But the combat is now mobilizing civil society organizations and the artists who cooperate on the regional scale. Several music stars of the region launched a single, “Africa Stop Ebola,” to give more information on how to prevent the propagation of the disease, the Malian national radio which broadcasts the single daily announced.

The popular panic over the Ebola outbreak goes beyond the countries that are directly affected by the deadly disease. Ivorian authorities were tracking a Guinea national suspected to be infected. The suspect who was taking care of Ebola patients in his country entered the Ivorian territory, despite restrictions on peoples’ movement.

More than 10, 000 people have been affected by the disease all over West Africa, according to the WHO. As of November 2nd, the worldwide Ebola death toll sits at 4, 818.

Suffering Stigmatization

In the Malian capital, those who have been in touch with the young who girl died from Ebola are suffering from stigmatization in their neighborhoods.

“People say there is Ebola in the family where the young girl and her grandmother stayed when passing by. Now only few people accept to cross the street on which the house is located,” Sidi Diallo, a resident of Bagadagji neighborhood, told AFKInsider.

Meanwhile, nothing is impeding the members of the family to go out of their house, though authorities advised them to stay at home until the end of the isolation period.

“I’m really afraid; if Ebola really exists in this family many other people living elsewhere can be infected,” said Diallo who mentioned that she hasn’t seen first-hand authorities take measures to isolate the family and neighbors.

The announced vaccine is more so a miracle to many in local communities who are disturbed by the prospect of a large-scale contamination.

“All my family members and myself will be [among] the first persons volunteering to receive the vaccine,”said Diallo. Meanwhile, skeptical thinkers deny the existence of the disease despite official warnings.

However, many citizens who are more concerned with a possible fast spreading epidemic can rely on the new medication. According to Dr. Sow, the vaccine being tested in Mali was developed by a Malian research and vaccine center, which is working in conjunction with the American Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta.

Though authorized Ebola treatments must be found, most of the American health workers who have been treated from Ebola benefited from the CDC’s experimental treatments.