The University of Oxford has launched the first human trial of a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo expands to new provinces.

The University of Oxford has begun the first human trial of a vaccine developed to protect against the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to spread.

According to the university, the early-stage BD-Ebov study will evaluate the safety and immune response of the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine candidate in 50 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 55. Participant recruitment has begun, with vaccinations expected to start in the coming weeks pending regulatory approval.

The vaccine was developed by researchers from the Oxford Vaccine Group and the Pandemic Sciences Institute, using the same viral vector platform employed in the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

The Serum Institute of India, a partner in the project, said it has already manufactured and stockpiled approximately 620,000 doses of the vaccine candidate, with 4,000 doses allocated for use in the clinical trial.

WHO prioritizes vaccine candidates

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended in May that the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine and the single-dose rVSV Bundibugyo vaccine candidate, developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), be prioritized for clinical evaluation as part of the response to the ongoing outbreak.

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced it will provide up to $8.6 million in initial funding to support the vaccine's development. Additional clinical trials are also planned in Uganda, subject to regulatory approval. If early-stage trials prove successful, CEPI, Oxford University, and the Serum Institute of India will support advanced studies required for emergency use authorization or full regulatory approval.

The project partners said their goal is to ensure that the vaccine can be supplied rapidly and at an affordable cost to countries affected by the outbreak.

Outbreak spreads to new provinces

The launch of the clinical trial comes as the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak expands into new areas of the DRC.

According to the country's National Institute of Public Health (INSP), the outbreak has spread to the northeastern provinces of Haut-Uele and Tshopo. The number of confirmed cases has risen to 1,926, while the death toll has reached 702.

As of Saturday, Tshopo had recorded four cases, including two deaths, while Haut-Uele reported one death. Declared on 15 May, the current outbreak is the DRC's 17th Ebola outbreak and has been concentrated mainly in Ituri Province, with additional cases reported in North Kivu and South Kivu.

Health officials said preliminary investigations indicate that the new cases in Tshopo and Haut-Uele were linked to transmission from Niania in Ituri Province. However, both provinces are now considered outbreak zones because of the growing risk of further spread.

WHO warns outbreak may be far larger

A senior WHO official told Reuters last week that the official figures may significantly underestimate the true scale of the outbreak. The official said that around four out of every five newly identified cases cannot be linked to known chains of transmission, suggesting that the actual number of infections could be two to four times higher than the reported total.

Ebola spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or animals. The disease can cause severe symptoms, including high fever, vomiting, and internal and external bleeding, and remains one of the world's deadliest viral infections. (ILKHA)