New Ebola Vaccine Races to Stop Growing Outbreak in Africa

4 hours ago · Health and science correspondent James Gallagher

Three research teams are racing to build vaccines for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which has already killed nearly 250 people and could soon rival the 2014–16 crisis in West Africa. The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), pharmaceutical giant Moderna, and the University of Oxford are pushing to bring a vaccine to clinical trials within the next year.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where over 1,000 suspected cases have been reported, the outbreak was only detected after it had spread through a conflict zone with limited health resources. Neighboring Uganda now reports nine confirmed cases. The outbreak threatens to become larger than the largest known Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people.

"We are clearly facing a threat that could be as severe as, if not worse than, the 2014–16 outbreak," said Dr Mark Feinberg, head of IAVI. The organization is adapting its proven Zaire‑Ebola vaccine, which has shown near‑100 % protection in monkeys, to target the Bundibugyo glycoprotein.

Moderna is applying its mRNA platform, used in the rapid Covid‑19 vaccine rollout, to build a new vaccine against Bundibugyo. The company’s CEO Stéphane Bancel said, “We will move with urgency and scientific rigor to bring a potential vaccine closer to the communities that need it most.”

The University of Oxford has also announced work on an mRNA‑based vaccine, leveraging technology that helped save lives during the pandemic. Oxford’s scientists say the candidate could reach clinical trials in the next two to three months.

Each vaccine works by teaching the immune system to recognise the Bundibugyo glycoprotein on the virus surface. While IAVI’s approach uses a harmless engineered virus, Moderna’s and Oxford’s methods deliver genetic instructions that prompt the body to produce the glycoprotein and mount an immune response.

These differences may influence how many doses are needed and how much protection is provided, stresses Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, the organization funding the early research. “Every day counts in the race against this deadly disease,” he said.

World Health Organization Director‑General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added that a Bundibugyo vaccine could help control the epidemic and strengthen preparedness for future outbreaks.

More on these developments: Five patients recover from Ebola in DR Congo and leave hospital | What is Ebola and why is stopping the latest outbreak so difficult?

Tags: Democratic Republic of Congo, World Health Organization (WHO), Africa, Health, Ebola virus