A team of Oxford University researchers is working to develop a new Ebola vaccine amid a rapidly spreading outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The project is being coordinated by the Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG), which uses technology similar to that used in the development of the vaccine against COVID-19. The new vaccine targets the Ebola strain responsible for the current outbreak, a variant for which there is currently no effective vaccine and, according to the BBC, it could be ready for clinical trials in the next two to three months.
It is the Bundibugyo strain, which is considered rare but has a high potential for severity, causing an estimated 30% to 50% mortality rate among infected people.
According to the World Health Organization, this variant has only been responsible for two other known outbreaks, one in Uganda in 2007 and another in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012.
“My hope is like this epidemic that it can be brought under control quickly and that, in the end, there is no need for vaccines anymore”, said Teresa Lambe, director of the immunology and vaccines section of the OVG.
“However, our team and partners will continue to work to ensure that potential vaccine options are available if needed. The ability to react quickly in such situations has been built after many years of vaccine research and close collaboration with our global partners.”she added.
OVG previously tested Ebola vaccines during the West African epidemic of 2013-2016, contributing to the development of a subsequent vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2020.
Meanwhile, the epidemiological situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains a worrying one. The director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the risk was assessed as “very high” as the virus “spreads rapidly” in the country.
According to the data presented by the WHO, 82 cases have been confirmed, and another 750 are suspected. In this context, the United Nations has allocated 60 million dollars from the Central Fund for Emergencies, with the aim of accelerating the international response in the region.
