The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified two candidate vaccines and several treatment options for evaluation in clinical trials as countries race to contain the ongoing Ebola outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda.
In a statement released Thursday, WHO said its advisory groups reviewed potential vaccines and therapeutics for both prevention and treatment of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD), stressing that all products should only be used within carefully monitored clinical trials.
“There are currently no licensed therapeutics or vaccines specifically approved for the prevention and treatment of BVD,” WHO said.
Among the vaccines prioritised for further assessment is the single-dose rVSV Bundibugyo vaccine being developed by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).WHO experts said the vaccine could take between seven and nine months before it is ready for efficacy testing in clinical trials.
Another promising candidate is the ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo vaccine developed by Oxford University and the Serum Institute of India, which experts said could be ready for trials within two to three months.
