The leading vaccine candidates against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola—developed by the University of Oxford and Moderna (MRNA.O)—to combat the deadly virus that has been spreading across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) may enter Phase 1 clinical trials as early as July.
The information was announced on Tuesday (16) by Richard Hatchett, director of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), who revealed that it may be possible to conduct field trials of the vaccines within a few months, Reuters reported.
Also on Tuesday, Bruno Michon, director of operations for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), stated that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC could last a year and has not yet reached its peak.
“We fear this outbreak will last another year before it ends,” the official said.
Meanwhile, one month after the Ebola outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned of gaps in surveillance, diagnosis, contact tracing, and community engagement, calling for a response commensurate with the scale of the outbreak.
“No one knows the true extent—or exactly where—the disease is spreading in the DRC. What we do know is that most treatment centers in Ituri Province are overwhelmed; many of our patients arrive at an advanced stage of the disease, and most were never identified or monitored as contacts before seeking care,” he said.
The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people or animals and causes severe hemorrhagic fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and internal bleeding.
