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

A candidate vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus has entered a new phase of clinical trials in Uganda, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said Thursday, as efforts accelerate to develop vaccines against the virus driving the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

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

Another candidate vaccine developed by Moderna received ethical approval for Phase Ib trials in Uganda on October 7, after its Phase Ia 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 program, 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 program 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 October 6, with a case fatality rate of 48.2%.

A total of 2,269 patients had recovered.