Oxford scientists developing new Ebola vaccine for Bundibugyo variant

Scientists from the University of Oxford in the UK are developing a new vaccine against the Ebola virus that should be ready for clinical trials in two to three months and could help tackle the current health emergency.

The ongoing outbreak, concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has already registered 750 suspected cases and 177 deaths.

Responsible for the current advance of cases, the Bundibugyo variant of Ebola is rare and does not yet have validated vaccines in trials. It kills about a third of infected people.

Even so, Oxford scientists say they are working at an accelerated pace in case the outbreak gets out of control and the experimental vaccine needs to be used.

There is no confirmation that the vaccine works. Animal testing and clinical trials in humans will still be necessary to confirm its efficacy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the risk of the current Ebola outbreak from "high" to "very high" in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The ongoing outbreak, concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has already registered 750 suspected cases and 177 deaths — Photo: Getty Images/BBC

According to the WHO, the risk is also considered high in the region affected by the outbreak, although it remains low internationally.

The update on the outbreak's status came after the WHO declared, last Sunday (17/05), a public health emergency of international concern, emphasizing that the outbreak does not constitute a pandemic (a situation where an infectious disease threatens many people around the world simultaneously, as happened with Covid-19).

Another experimental vaccine against Bundibugyo is also under development, but it is expected to take between six and nine months to be ready for trials.

— Photo: BBC

The vaccine being developed in Oxford uses the same technology the team worked on during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is a highly adaptable technology, known as ChAdOx1, which can be quickly adjusted to combat different infections.

During the pandemic, it was loaded with genetic code from the coronavirus. This time, scientists used genetic material from the Bundibugyo variant of Ebola.

The technology employs a common cold virus that normally infects chimpanzees, but which has been genetically modified to be safe for humans.

Researchers involved in the vaccine's development use this modified flu virus to transport and deliver important genetic information about the Bundibugyo Ebola virus to cells. With this, the body learns to recognize and combat the real disease.

The vaccine does not cause infection or Ebola symptoms, but prepares the immune system to offer protection.

The BBC has learned that animal testing is already underway in Oxford.

As soon as the University of Oxford makes the material available in pharmaceutical standard, the Serum Institute of India should begin large-scale production of the Ebola vaccine.

"As soon as we deliver the initial material, they will be able to produce quickly and on a large scale," Professor Teresa Lambe, director of vaccine immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, told BBC News.

According to the WHO, the vaccine could be available for use in clinical trials within two to three months.

According to Lambe, from the Oxford Vaccine Group, acting quickly is a priority.

"People are worried about this outbreak. In general, you have to prepare for the worst-case scenario. We hope that contact tracing and quarantine will be sufficient, but we cannot slow down," she said.

— Photo: BBC

The current Ebola outbreak represents a challenge because it is caused by a rare variant of the virus.

There are six species of the Ebola virus, but only three cause major outbreaks in humans.

The Bundibugyo virus has caused only two previous outbreaks — in Uganda in 2007 and in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012 — and had not been detected for over a decade.

There is already a vaccine against the more common Zaire variant, but there is no proven effective vaccine for Bundibugyo yet.

Ebola vaccines would not be applied en masse in the same way as during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Instead, they are used in a strategy known as ring vaccination, in which only those at highest risk of infection are immunized. This includes close contacts of Ebola patients and healthcare professionals who treat infected people, who can transmit the virus easily.

The Oxford research team had already been working on similar vaccines for the Sudan variant of the Ebola virus and for Marburg virus.

Health professionals with protective equipment outside the General Reference Hospital during actions to combat the Ebola outbreak, on May 21, 2026, in Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo — Photo: Getty Images/BBC

What is Ebola and what are the symptoms?

Ebola is a rare but deadly disease caused by a virus.

The Ebola virus normally infects animals, generally fruit bats, but outbreaks in humans can sometimes start when people eat or handle infected animals.

Symptoms take between two and 21 days to appear. They appear suddenly and start like the flu, with fever, headache, and fatigue.

As the disease progresses, vomiting and diarrhea occur, which can lead to organ failure. Some patients, but not all, develop internal and external hemorrhages.

The virus spreads from person to person through contact with infected bodily fluids, such as blood or vomit.

What is being done to contain the outbreak?

call immediately when symptoms appear avoid contact with bodies of people who died with symptoms or with dead animals do not consume raw meat, as undercooked food can transmit the virus practice social distancing *Additional reporting Emery Makumeno and Hafsa Khalil

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