First Bundibugyo Ebola Vaccine Trial Begins

A volunteer has received the first dose of an experimental vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, as researchers work to respond to an outbreak that has killed more than 1,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Oxford University says the vaccine was administered on Friday to 37-year-old Ed Hunt in Oxford, marking the start of the first human trial of its ChAdOx1 BDBV candidate.

The vaccine has been developed using the same platform technology as the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Researchers moved the candidate from initial development to clinical testing within eight weeks.

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“We’ve taken this vaccine candidate from concept to clinic in just eight weeks,” David Pulido-Gomez of Oxford’s Pandemic Sciences Institute said.

The Phase 1 trial will assess the vaccine’s safety and immune response in 50 healthy adults, with researchers continuing to recruit participants.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has funded the trial, while the Serum Institute of India has manufactured a stockpile of 620,000 doses. Subject to regulatory approval, Oxford researchers are also preparing for further clinical studies with partners in Uganda.

Ebola (News Central TV)

Several other vaccine candidates targeting the Bundibugyo strain are being developed, alongside two potential treatments.

The current outbreak is the Democratic Republic of Congo’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak but only the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there are currently no approved vaccines or treatments.

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World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last week that the outbreak had “expanded faster than any previous outbreak” of Ebola over the preceding month.

The outbreak has remained concentrated in the DRC’s conflict-affected and mineral-rich northeastern region, although cases have also been detected in four other provinces.

Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with infected bodily fluids, making rapid detection, isolation, treatment and vaccination research critical to controlling its spread.

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Tope Oke

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