Four Ebola Vaccines in Early Development as DR Congo Outbreak May Last Months or Years

Scientists are developing four Ebola vaccines targeting the Bundibugyo strain outbreak in DR Congo, with two candidates potentially ready for clinical trials in two months. More than 500 cases of the Bundibugyo strain have been reported in the outbreak, which is concentrated in eastern DR Congo.

Health experts say the strain is likely to have circulated undetected for weeks in northeastern Ituri province, where artisanal mining is an economic mainstay.

One experimental vaccine is being developed by Oxford University scientists and another by Moderna. Both use technology from COVID-19 vaccines and could be in clinical trials by the end of summer, Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, said.

Even if a vaccine performed well in clinical trials, it would take at least two more months to move to further trials and receive regulatory approval, Hatchett said.

Emanuele Capobianco, director of global health security at GAVI, said it is likely to take several months, potentially years, to end the outbreak. He compared the current situation to the 2018 Zaire strain epidemic in eastern DR Congo, which lasted two years despite an available vaccine.

Capobianco said a proven vaccine would be a “game changer” if it proved as effective as the jab against the Ebola Zaire strain, which cut transmission by around 75 percent and reduced the mortality rate by 79 percent.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention urged all African Union member states to urgently review and strengthen exit screening and public health measures at international airports, seaports, and major ground crossings. “It’s clear that the identification of this outbreak as Bundibugyo was delayed,” Hatchett said.