UK scientists developing Ebola vaccine that could be ready for trials in months

Scientists at Oxford University are developing a new vaccine that could be ready for clinical trials within two to three months to help tackle the Ebola emergency. The outbreak, centred on the Democratic Republic of Congo, has resulted in 750 suspected cases and 177 deaths. The rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, for which there is no proven vaccine, kills around a third of those infected.

There are no guarantees the vaccine will prove effective and it will take animal research and trials on people to know if it will be. But scientists say they are working urgently in case the outbreak spirals and their experimental vaccine is needed. In the wider region the risk is also now considered to be high but it remains low internationally, it added. This comes after the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, when it stressed that the outbreak was not a pandemic. Another separate experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also in development, but it is expected to take six to nine months for any dose of that to be ready for testing. The vaccine being developed by UK scientists uses the same technology the team developed during the Covid pandemic. It is a highly adjustable technology - known as ChAdOx1 - that can be quickly tweaked so it works against different infections. During the pandemic it was loaded with genetic code from the Covid-virus. This time it has been prepared with genetic code from the Bundibugyo species of Ebola. It uses a common cold virus that normally infects chimpanzees but has been genetically engineered to make it safe for people. Researchers use this modified cold virus to carry and deliver important genetic material about the Bundibugyo Ebola virus to cells, instructing them to recognise and fight off the actual disease. The vaccine does not cause an infection or Ebola symptoms, but trains the immune system to give protection.

Key points

• There are no guarantees the vaccine will prove effective and it will take animal research and trials on people to know if it will be.
• But scientists say they are working urgently in case the outbreak spirals and their experimental vaccine is needed.
• In the wider region the risk is also now considered to be high but it remains low internationally, it added.
• This comes after the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, when it stressed that the outbreak was not a pandemic.
• Another separate experimental Bundibugyo vaccine is also in development, but it is expected to take six to nine months for any dose of that to be ready for testing.