A Race Against Time: Battling the Bundibugyo Strain

An escalating Ebola epidemic, caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain, has struck the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Hundreds have been infected, and almost 250 people have died. Containing the virus is severely hindered by active conflict, healthcare deficits, and community mistrust.

Because existing vaccines only protect against the Zaire strain, scientists are racing to create a new defense. Backed by emergency funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, three developers are utilising distinct technologies to target the virus’s surface glycoprotein:

The University of Oxford: Partnering with the Serum Institute of India, they are adapting their Covid-19 vaccine technology. It could enter clinical trials within two to three months.

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative: Deemed the most promising candidate by the World Health Organization, this weakened live-virus design is seven to nine months from human trials. Dr Mark Feinberg, head of the initiative, warned, “I think this is clearly threatening to be as severe an outbreak as that, if not even worse…”

Moderna: Advancing a messenger RNA candidate, expected to be trial-ready within months.

Concurrently, researchers are preparing to test three existing treatments and a pioneering preventative pill, obdeldesivir, to safeguard patient contacts.

Image Credit: Source