Uganda launches Ebola vaccine trial

A potentially groundbreaking vaccine that could help combat the deadly Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus. The new jab, which is being developed by Oxford researchers, is currently being tested in the Ugandan city of Masaka, which launched phase one clinical trials last week. In a phase one vaccine trial, what we are looking out for is whether the vaccine is safe, first and foremost, and secondly, whether it elicits an appropriate immune response. A deadly mutation of the Ebola virus, the Bundibugyo strain was first identified in 2007, but still doesn't have an approved treatment or vaccine. A recent outbreak in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo has already killed over 4,000 people, making it the country's deadliest ever and placing regional health authorities on high alert. Uganda, meanwhile, reported around 20 cases earlier this year, but declared the epidemic over in late August. The country has now secured some 3,000 doses of the new Oxford vaccine and scientists are assessing its initial safety before expanding the trial. We have an independent data safety monitoring committee that will review the data and then based on that review we'll then proceed to enroll the remaining participants. We expect to enroll about 110 participants in total. Meanwhile, the DRC was also gearing up to launch its own trial of Ervebo, an approved vaccine against the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, to see if it offers any cross-protection against Bundibugyo.