Race to develop Ebola vaccine as deadly strain of virus spreads

Efforts are ramping up to rapidly develop a vaccine for the rare strain of Ebola driving a deadly outbreak. (Reuters: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)

Efforts have ramped up to develop a vaccine for the rare strain of Ebola amid a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

More than 1,100 people are infected with the strain in the DRC and Uganda, though the true extent of the virus's spread is feared to be much wider.

The WHO estimated it would take seven to nine months before the new vaccine will be ready to be tested on humans.

Several non-profit organisations are ramping up efforts to rapidly develop a vaccine for the rare strain of Ebola driving a deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Nearly 250 people are suspected to have died, and more than 1,100 are infected with the strain in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda, though the true spread of the virus is feared to be much wider.

While it marks the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC, it is just the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

The escalating nature of the outbreak has sparked a race to quickly develop, manufacture, and test a vaccine in humans during clinical trials in the affected region.

The World Health Organization said on Saturday that its experts had determined "the most promising candidate vaccine" was a single-dose shot using the rVSV platform.

The only licensed Ebola vaccine, which targets the more common Zaire strain, uses the same platform.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus visited the epicentre of the outbreak in the DRC on the weekend. (Reuters: Gradel Muyisa Mumbere)

The non-profit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) announced on Monday it had reached a deal with the University of Texas Medical Branch to develop the rVSV candidate.

The university's Thomas Geisbert led work on both the Bundibugyo candidate and the licensed Zaire vaccine.

Professor Geisbert told AFP last month that research from 2013 demonstrated his candidate provided very strong protection against Bundibugyo in monkeys.

The federal government will not impose border restrictions on travellers from Ebola-stricken countries despite new suspected cases in Italy and Brazil.

However, the vaccine "just sat there" for more than a decade due to a lack of interest, particularly from pharmaceutical firms, the virologist added.

The WHO estimated that it would take seven to nine months for the rVSV vaccine to be ready to be tested in humans.

Also on Monday, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) announced funding