The World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved the addition of two experimental vaccines to clinical trials targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, as health authorities battle an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced the development on Wednesday, saying expert groups had recommended including the two vaccine candidates in an ongoing trial.
The vaccines are ChAdOx1 BDBV, developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna’s mRNA-1469. Both were specifically developed to target the Bundibugyo virus.
Tedros explained that a trial using Ervebo, an already approved Ebola vaccine, began last month. However, the vaccine does not protect against the Bundibugyo strain currently responsible for the outbreak in the DRC.
The DRC’s National Institute for Biomedical Research is leading the clinical trial, with support from the WHO and other partners.
While welcoming the vaccine candidates, Tedros warned that vaccination alone would not be enough to control the outbreak.
“Vaccines are powerful tools, but they are not substitutes for the proven measures that can save lives now: early care, contact tracing, isolation, safe and dignified burials and trusted engagement with communities,” he said.
The WHO chief stressed the need to maintain established public health measures alongside efforts to develop vaccines against the virus.
Ebola outbreak death toll exceeds 5,300
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Monday that the ongoing Ebola epidemic across Africa had killed more than 5,300 people, with the vast majority of deaths recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The agency reported 10,444 confirmed cases and a fatality rate of more than 50 per cent.
The approval of the two vaccine candidates is expected to strengthen ongoing research efforts against the Bundibugyo strain, which is not covered by the currently approved Ervebo vaccine.
