New Ebola vaccine trials begin in Uganda amid deadly DR Congo outbreak

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): A candidate vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus has entered a new phase of clinical trials in Uganda, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said today, reported Xinhua.

The trials are part of efforts to develop vaccines against the virus causing the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC.

Wessam Mankoula, an Africa CDC official, said during an online press briefing that Phase 1B trials of the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine, developed by Oxford University, began in Uganda on October 6, following the launch of Phase 1A trials in Britain in July.

Another candidate vaccine, developed by Moderna, received ethical approval for Phase 1B trials in Uganda on October 7, after its Phase 1A trials began in Canada in early August, he said.

The ongoing outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, for which no specifically approved vaccine or treatment is currently available.

Meanwhile, the Africa CDC said the DRC had received 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which is approved for use against the Zaire Ebola virus but has not been proven effective against the Bundibugyo virus.

Under a protocol-governed compassionate-use programme, 7,775 healthcare and other frontline workers had been vaccinated as of October 7.

Another 848 frontline workers had received the vaccine under a separate research protocol known as BRAVO, although vaccination under that programme has been suspended due to supply shortages.

According to the latest figures released by the DRC health authorities, the outbreak had recorded 8,728 confirmed cases and 4,205 deaths as of Oct 6, with a case fatality rate of 48.2 per cent.

A total of 2,269 patients had recovered. – BERNAMA-XINHUA