Oxford Starts 50-Person Bundibugyo Ebola Vaccine Trial as DR Congo Cases Top 2,500
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jul 24
Oxford Starts 50-Person Bundibugyo Ebola Vaccine Trial as DR Congo Cases Top 2,500
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 24
Summary
Ed Hunt, 37, became the first person to receive Oxford’s experimental Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine, launching a phase-one trial that will recruit 50 healthy volunteers aged 18-55.
Eight weeks after development, the shot entered human testing using the same platform as the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine, with researchers checking safety and whether it triggers a protective immune response.
Four vaccines are in development for the Bundibugyo strain, but Oxford’s is the first to reach human trials; the licensed Ebola vaccine for the Zaire species does not protect against Bundibugyo.
Uganda is due to host a second small trial, followed by a larger efficacy study in DR Congo, where the outbreak has caused more than 2,500 confirmed cases and just over 1,000 deaths.
The Serum Institute of India has already made 600,000 doses, positioning the vaccine for rapid deployment if the trials succeed.