The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to 3,200, including 1,405 deaths, according to government data released on Sunday, highlighting the scale of an outbreak that continues to challenge health authorities and aid agencies.
As the outbreak grows, researchers in the United Kingdom have begun testing a new experimental vaccine that scientists hope could help combat the virus responsible for the latest wave of infections.
The first person in the world to receive the vaccine is Ed Hunt, a 37-year-old volunteer from the UK, who was inoculated in Oxford as part of an early-stage clinical trial.
Hunt said he decided to take part after following reports of the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Ed Hunt
He is the first of 50 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 55 who will participate in the initial study.
The vaccine was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford using the same platform that was employed to create the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
Scientists say they produced the candidate vaccine in just eight weeks, drawing on decades of previous research into infectious diseases and vaccine development.
Professor Teresa Lambe, who leads the Oxford vaccine team, said the technology enabled researchers to respond quickly to the outbreak.
Researchers say the vaccine has been designed to protect against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, the variant linked to the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
While a licensed vaccine already exists for the Zaire strain of the virus, it does not provide protection against the Bundibugyo strain, creating an urgent need for new options.
The Oxford vaccine is the first of four Bundibugyo-targeted candidates currently in development to enter human testing.
The trial's first phase will focus on determining whether the vaccine is safe and capable of producing a strong immune response.
"We will not be giving anybody Ebola in this trial or any trial," Lambe said.
"The aim of the phase one clinical study is to look for the safety of the vaccine, and also to see if we're getting a strong immune response that could be protective against the Bundibugyo species of Ebola."
Researchers stress that the vaccine cannot cause Ebola infection.
Following the Oxford trial, scientists plan to launch a second small-scale study in Uganda before moving on to a larger efficacy trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
If the vaccine proves successful, it could be deployed rapidly. The Serum Institute of India has already manufactured 600,000 doses in preparation for potential future use.
For communities battling a growing outbreak and rising death toll, researchers hope the vaccine will become a key tool in controlling the spread of Ebola and preventing further loss of life.
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