Scientists at Oxford University are developing an experimental Ebola vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within months, as the outbreak centred on the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread with 750 suspected cases and 177 deaths.
Scientists at Oxford University are developing a new vaccine to tackle the ongoing Ebola emergency, with the World Health Organisation indicating it could be available for clinical trials within two to three months.
The outbreak, centred on the Democratic Republic of Congo, involves the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, which kills around a third of those infected and currently has no proven vaccine.
The vaccine uses ChAdOx1 technology — the same platform developed during the Covid pandemic — loaded with genetic code from the Bundibugyo species to train the immune system against the disease.
The Serum Institute of India is lined up to mass-produce the vaccine once Oxford supplies medical-grade material.
Prof Lambe of the Oxford Vaccine Group stressed the urgency of the work, saying: “People are worried about this outbreak, generally, you prepare for the worst case scenario — hopefully contact tracing and quarantine is all that’s needed, but we can’t take our foot off the gas.”
The WHO has since upgraded the outbreak risk in DR Congo from “high” to “very high.”
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