DR Congo launches Ebola vaccine trial targeting Bundibugyo strain
The Democratic Republic of Congo has begun a clinical trial of vaccines against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which is driving an outbreak that began in May. The first participants were vaccinated Friday in Bunia, the capital of northeastern Ituri province and the outbreak’s epicentre.
The DRC-led Tumaini trial will evaluate the safety, immune response and effectiveness of multiple vaccines using a ring-vaccination strategy focused on contacts of confirmed cases and others at high risk. It will include pregnant women and children aged 12 and older.
The first vaccine being tested is Merck’s Ervebo, which is approved against the Zaire Ebola strain. Researchers will assess whether it also provides protection against Bundibugyo Ebola, for which no vaccine is currently approved. Bundibugyo-specific candidates developed by Moderna and by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of …