Human trials begin for a new Ebola vaccine developed by Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid team

  • The phase I trial is currently being conducted by 26 individuals. Expected results in six months 
  • Ebola can be a very deadly illness, with 90% of the people it infects dying.
  • Oxford researchers have developed the Covid jabs, which were approved for use in the UK by 2020. 










A novel Ebola vaccine has been tested on humans by an Oxford University research team.

The jab – currently known as ChAdOx1 biEBOV – uses the same technology as the breakthrough coronavirus shot.

This product was created to combat the Zaire-Sudan strains of Ebola. These are the most deadly and common types.

This trial will involve 26 participants aged between 18 and 55 receiving the jab. They will be monitored in Oxford for six months. The trial in Tanzania will continue until the end. 

The first patients will be vaccinated starting this morning. Results are expected by the end of 2022. 

In phase 1, the safety, side effects and best dose of the new jab will be tested. The jab’s performance against Ebola will be evaluated in subsequent trials.

There are other Ebola vaccines that use the Zaire species. However, Oxford researchers believe the new one will be more effective.

Oxford University scientists have started human trial on a new vaccine they hope will help prevent deaths from the Ebola virus. The deadly disease can kill up to 90 per cent of people it infects and the last major outbreak of the disease killed 11,000 people worldwide.

Oxford University researchers have begun human trials for a vaccine that they believe will prevent the spread of Ebola. Ebola can cause death in as many as 90% of its victims. The last outbreak killed over 11,000 people.  

The four Ebola viruses have caused disease in human beings.

These include the Zaire, which is lethal and causes death in 75% to 90% of cases.

Zaire is the cause of most epidemics. This includes the West Africa and East African outbreaks of 2014 and 2016, and the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018, where over 32,000 people became infected and 13600 were killed.

WHAT DID OXFORD COVID VACCINETECHNOLOGY DO?

The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine – called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 – uses a harmless, weakened version of a common virus which causes a cold in chimpanzees.

This technology has already been used by researchers to create vaccines for a variety of pathogens, including Zika and flu.

The virus is genetically modified so that it is impossible for it to reproduce  in humans and cause infection.

Scientists have transferred the genetic instructions for coronavirus’s specific ‘spike protein’ – which it needs to invade cells – to the vaccine.

This genetic code is used to make the vaccine force cells within the body to create the coronavirus’ surface spike protein.

It induces an immune reaction because the cells are made to look like the virus. This effectively serves as a training tool for the immune system in how to combat the virus should it get into your body. 

This vaccine uses the ChAdOx1 viral, which is a weaker version of the chimpanzee common virus. It has been genetically altered so it cannot reproduce in humans.

It has been successfully used in the Oxford AstraZeneca COvid vaccine.

Teresa Lambe, associate professor at the Jenner Institute and lead scientific investigator at the University of Oxford, said: ‘Sporadic Ebolavirus outbreaks still occur in affected countries, putting the lives of individuals – especially frontline health workers – at risk. This disease is a serious threat to human health and we need better vaccines.

Principal investigator at the Jenner Institute Dr Daniel Jenkin said that vaccines have been approved for the Ebola virus.

“However this can also be caused from several types of viruses, so each one may need a specific immune response in order to provide protection.”

“We developed our vaccine specifically to attack the Ebolavirus viruses that are responsible for nearly all deaths from Ebolavirus epidemics. Now we look forward to conducting Phase I clinical trials.

Online registration is possible for volunteers who are interested in the course.

The vaccine will be tested in Tanzania again by the end the year.  

Ebola claimed the lives of at least 111,000 people worldwide in its last severe outbreak. It decimated West Africa between 2014 and 2016.

Ebola is spread from wild animals like bats, monkeys, and porcupines to humans. It then spreads among people through contact with bodily fluids or materials, including clothing and bedding.  

Ervebo, a current vaccine that protects against Ebola Zaire has been proven to be very effective.

Another vaccine called Zabdeno-and-Mvabea was approved for use in May 2020 and consists of two doses delivered eight weeks apart. 

Ebola is a continuing epidemic in Democratic Republic of Congo. It began October 8th.  

Oxford University is in a unique position to make an Ebola vaccine. They began their research on developing rapid vaccines following the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic. 

Researchers from Oxford University were hailed as heroes in December last year for helping to vaccinate the world against Covid after developing a jab that only cost £2 to produce.

Following the discovery of a small chance that blood-clots could develop, it was restricted later to over-40s only in the UK.

In the UN’s COVAX vaccination global vaccine sharing programme, Britain donated 30.6 million doses (or more) of Oxford-AstraZeneca to developing countries. It also has plans for 20million additional donations. 

EBOLA: WHAT IS IT? AND WHY WAS IT DEADLY? 

Ebola is a hemorhagic fever that has claimed the lives of at least 11,000. It was first discovered in West Africa, and quickly spread over two years.

The WHO declared the epidemic over in Liberia on January 16, 2016.

It was the country that suffered the most from the fever. The nation had been rocked in the past by civil wars, which ended in 2003.

Sierra Leone was the country with the greatest number of Ebola patients, nearly all infected being residents.

WHERE IS IT COMING FROM? 

The New England Journal of Medicine published an analysis that found that the disease originated in Guinea, which borders Liberia or Sierra Leone.

An international team of researchers was able to locate the source of the epidemic in Meliandou. It is located about 400 miles (650km), from Conakry, the capital.

Emile Ouamouno, known more commonly as Patient Zero, may have contracted the deadly virus by playing with bats in a hollow tree, a study suggested.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE STRUCK DOWN 

WHAT COUNTRIES WENT STRUCK DOWN DURING 2014-16 EBOLA EPIDEMIC (CDC Figures)
COUNTRY                                                CAUSES  DEATHS DEATH RATE (%) 
GUINEA 3,814 2,544 66.7 %
SIERRA LEONE  14.124  3956  28.0% 
LIBERIA  10,678  4,810  45.0% 
NIGERIA  20  8.  40.0% 
SENEGAL  0.  N/A 
SPAIN  0.  N/A 
US  4.  25.0% 
MALI  8.  75.0%
UK  0.  N/A
ITALY  0.  N/A 

Ebola killed approximately 40% of the victims, according to figures.

There were 15 deaths and cases reported between Nigeria, Mali, and the US.

Guinean health officials reported that a strange bug was found in the country’s south-eastern areas. This bug had been identified by the WHO as Ebola. 

Scientists first discovered Ebola in 1976. However, the latest outbreak has outpaced all others, according to figures.

HOW DID HUMANS CONTACT THE VIRUS? 

Ebola, according to scientists, is transmitted most commonly to people through fruit bats. But chimpanzees as well as antelopes (porcupines), gorillas, and porcupines could be responsible.

The virus is transmitted to humans via blood, saliva and other bodily fluids.

Is THERE A TREATMENT? 

There are two Ebola vaccinations currently in use. The first is Ervebo, which has proven to be very effective at protecting against Ebola Zaire.

Another vaccine called Zabdeno-and-Mvabea was approved for use in May 2020 and consists of two doses delivered eight weeks apart. 

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