Human Trials of Ebola Vaccine Started

The first human trials of an Ebola vaccine developed using the same technology as the AstraZeneca Covid jab has been started by a team of researchers at the University of Oxford.

The trial will be conducted on 26 volunteers, aged between 18 and 55 years, to determine the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine called ChAdOx1 biEBOV.

Ebola Virus Disease | Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever: Cause Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Ebola is caused by a virus via direct contact with body fluids or infected blood. Scientists have identified five types of Ebola or Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus.

‘Ebola is a severe, often fatal illness that is transmitted to people from wild animals and then spreads in the human population through direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people.’

Tweet it Now

It will assess the vaccine's efficacy and the immune response it creates against Zaire and Sudan Ebola virus species in healthy adult volunteers.

"We are carrying out a clinical trial of a new Ebola vaccine called 'ChAdOx1 biEBOV' which is designed to target two of the deadliest species of Ebola-causing viruses," according to a statement of the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford.

The vaccine is based on the ChAdOx1 vaccine technology that was previously successfully used to develop the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

Quiz on Ebola
Why is the deadly Ebola virus outbreak making the health experts hit the panic button? Find out from this quiz.

It is developed using adenovirus -- a weakened version of the common cold virus that is genetically modified so that it cannot replicate in humans.

The trial participants will be monitored over a six-month period, with results expected in the second quarter of 2022.

Eight Ebola Cases Reported in DR Congo
In the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 8 cases of Ebola have been confirmed by health officials, said the World Health Organization.

There are four species of Ebola virus that have been known to cause disease in humans. Of these, Zaire is the most lethal, causing death in 70-90 per cent of cases if left untreated.

While rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine is currently approved against Ebola, the research team believes "the world needs new vaccines against Ebola".

Johnson and Johnson Two-Dose Ebola Vaccine Safe
Johnson And Johnson two-dose vaccine against Ebola virus was found to be safe and well tolerated in people over the age of one.

"This disease can be caused by several different species of virus and each of these may require a targeted immune response to offer protection," Dr Daniel Jenkin, principal investigator of the trial at the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

"We have designed our new vaccine to target the two species of virus that have caused nearly all Ebolavirus outbreaks and deaths, and now look forward to testing this in phase one clinical trials," he added.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently seeing an outbreak with eight cases, including six deaths reported since the beginning of October.

Source-IANS