Oxford begins human trial of vaccine for Bundibugyo Ebola strain

A volunteer in Oxford received the first dose of a rapidly developed vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Oxford University said.

The strain is driving a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the DRC and Uganda since the outbreak emerged in May, according to the World Health Organization.

Researchers and health organisations have been working to bring a vaccine or treatment for the relatively rare strain into human testing. Oxford University announced earlier this month that it was launching the first trial for its ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine, which uses the same technology as AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine.

A university spokesman said the first dose was administered on Friday to a 37-year-old volunteer named Ed Hunt in Oxford.

David Pulido-Gomez of Oxford's Pandemic Sciences Institute said the vaccine candidate had moved from concept to clinic in eight weeks. He said the speed reflected a collaborative effort.

The trial received funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. The Serum Institute of India has already made a stockpile of 620,000 doses.

The phase 1 trial plans to assess the vaccine's safety and effectiveness in 50 healthy adults in the coming weeks. Researchers are recruiting more volunteers. Oxford said that, subject to regulatory approval, the team is preparing for further clinical studies with partners in Uganda.

Several other Bundibugyo vaccine candidates are also being urgently developed toward the trial stage, and two possible treatments are being worked on.

The outbreak is the 17th in the DRC's history and only the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain. There are no approved vaccines or treatments for that strain. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned last week that the outbreak had expanded faster over the previous month than any earlier Ebola outbreak.

The outbreak has remained concentrated in the DRC's mineral-rich and conflict-affected northeastern province, but cases have also been found in four other DRC provinces. Ebola spreads through close contact and infected bodily fluids.