Oxford launches human trial of Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine

The first human clinical trial of an experimental vaccine specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has begun at the University of Oxford, marking a critical step in the global response to a severe and ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The first volunteer, 37-year-old Ed Hunt from Oxford, received the shot on Friday, July 24, 2026.

The vaccine candidate, known as ChAdOx1 BDBV, was developed by scientists at the university’s Oxford Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute. It utilizes the same chimpanzee adenovirus vector technology that underpinned the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, a platform credited with enabling its rapid development. Researchers moved the vaccine from concept to clinical evaluation in just eight weeks.

This urgency is driven by a major gap in Ebola preparedness. While a licensed vaccine, Ervebo, exists for the Zaire strain of Ebola, there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain. The ongoing outbreak in the DRC, the country's 17th since the virus was identified in 1976, has been declared the third-largest Ebola outbreak on record. More than 2,500 confirmed cases and over...