The ongoing Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda has killed dozens of people, with over 350 confirmed cases. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus has a fatality rate of between 30% and 50%, and there is currently no vaccine approved for it.<\/em><\/p>\n Two scientists at the University of Oxford, Teresa Lambe and Rebecca Makinson, are part of the group who are working to develop one. In early June, Oxford was one of three organisations to receive funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for this work. They spoke to The Conversation Weekly podcast about what it takes to make an Ebola vaccine. This is an edited version of that conversation.<\/em><\/p>\n How dangerous is this moment?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Rebecca Makinson:<\/strong> It\u2019s feeling pretty dangerous at the moment. We\u2019re behind on the outbreak response compared to where we\u2019ve been in previous outbreaks. Initial testing on this outbreak was done on a different species of virus. So we missed that key initial moment where we identified the virus that\u2019s causing the disease, and we didn\u2019t know it was Bundibugyo until later.<\/p>\n Cases are much higher than we\u2019d like. And public health measures are playing catch-up.<\/p>\n What do we know about the Bundibugyo virus strain?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Ebola is a group of viruses \u2013 we call it a genus \u2013 that has several species. Bundibugyo is just one of them. It was first identified in 2007 in an outbreak in the Bundibugyo district of western Uganda.<\/p>\n Ecology-wise, there\u2019s a lot we still don\u2019t know. Like other Ebola viruses, Bundibugyo is considered a zoonotic pathogen. That means it circulates in animals and occasionally spills over into humans.<\/p>\n The leading hypothesis we have is that certain species of fruit bats act as a natural reservoir. We think this because related Ebola viruses have been linked to bats. We\u2019ve seen viral genetic material there. But there\u2019s still a lot of work to be done on Bundibugyo.<\/p>\n Read: Congo\u2019s Ebola footprint widens as officials race to gauge epidemic\u2019s true scale<\/p>\n What\u2019s different about it from the Zaire strain, for example?<\/span><\/strong>Rebecca Makinson:<\/strong> They\u2019re similar in that they\u2019re from the same group. They are filamentous or thread-like viruses. Under the microscope, they look a bit like a shepherd\u2019s crook. And all members of this group have one surface expressed protein called the glycoprotein.<\/p>\n But what\u2019s different is the amino acid sequence within the glycoprotein. The two viruses are only around 60% the same in this regard.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n They behave similarly, similar ecology, but we\u2019re not confident that a vaccine that we generate against one strain would be able to protect against the other because of that difference in the sequence of the glycoprotein.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Have we tried using an existing vaccine against this one?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Rebecca Makinson:<\/strong> We\u2019ve never tried in humans, which would obviously be the gold standard of data. There have been a few limited pre-clinical studies but the data\u2019s limited and it\u2019s not looking like we\u2019re getting great cross-protection here.<\/p>\n Read: Congo seeks experimental Ebola drug as cases surpass 1 000<\/p>\n Why is it so hard to make a vaccine for Ebola?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Rebecca Makinson:<\/strong> There are two vaccines that are licensed for use against Zaire Ebola virus. And they work well. So the challenge isn\u2019t necessarily the biology of it. The main challenge is logistical and funding related.<\/p>\n Unlike, say, flu or Covid, the Ebola viruses affect relatively few people globally, although the outbreaks are horrific. There\u2019s just not that normal market incentive that you\u2019d get for pharmaceutical companies. Vaccine development can be really expensive, and there\u2019s limited commercial return.<\/p>\n Much of the progress when we\u2019re developing vaccines depends on governments and nonprofits and international organisations like the WHO [World Health Organisation]. The other Ebola viruses that have caused more outbreaks do seem to have been prioritised.<\/p>\n Read: Congo\u2019s Ebola outbreak is \u2018outpacing\u2019 response, WHO says<\/p>\n There is also a practical challenge. Outbreaks often occur in regions with limited healthcare infrastructure. Once we\u2019ve got a vaccine made we need to be able to manufacture it, transport it, store it, and get it to people quickly enough to stop the transmission.<\/p>\n There are two vaccines licensed for the Zaire strain. How do they work?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Rebecca Makinson:<\/strong> They\u2019re both viral vector vaccines. We\u2019re using a non-infectious, non-dangerous virus. They gene that gives them their cell surface protein has been deleted, and we replace it with this glycoprotein that we\u2019ve been talking about for Ebola virus. And you vaccinate with that.<\/p>\n In no way are you ever being exposed to Ebola. It\u2019s not Ebola disease-causing or disease-causing at all. But we use this viral vector to deliver the glycoprotein to our bodies, which are then able to make antibody and T-cell responses against that protein. Both of them work that way.<\/p>\n One requires one shot of a vaccine called Ervebo. The other requires two doses of shots called Zabdeno and Mvabea.<\/p>\n Read: WHO Ebola emergency declaration seeks to spur global response<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n You\u2019ve both been involved in making a vaccine against Ebola viruses. Can you tell me about history of the ChAdOx platform?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa Lambe:<\/strong> ChAdOx is a platform that we\u2019ve worked with for many years. It\u2019s a viral vectored platform. Essentially it can be thought of as a plug and play approach. In essence we have taken a chimp adenovirus and modified it so that it\u2019s non-infectious and can act as a platform vaccine technology.<\/p>\n What is a good efficacy for a vaccine like this for Ebola?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa:<\/strong> A good outcome for me is a vaccine that keeps you alive. During Covid, I was asked which was the best vaccine, and my answer was generally, \u2018Whatever vaccine you\u2019re offered in your country, put it in your arm, as it will keep you alive.\u2019 And all the vaccines did that.<\/p>\n Public health measures are really important too. What have we learned from previous outbreaks?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa Lambe:<\/strong> The first thing is about the type of protective equipment that will keep you safe while you\u2019re treating patients, and making sure we have enough.<\/p>\n But I think a lot of social science needs to be at the forefront. I think we sometimes don\u2019t consider what is normal practice in other countries, and therefore assume we know best.<\/p>\n We need to learn from our neighbours and the countries where these outbreaks happen so that we don\u2019t impose a certain way of working. And I think there\u2019s work to be done about honestly representing what these vaccines and therapeutics can and can\u2019t do and talking to the public to assuage concerns.<\/p>\n Read: Congo Ebola outbreak tests global response after US aid pullback<\/p>\n What do you mean, \u2018what they can and can\u2019t do\u2019?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa Lambe:<\/strong> For example, during Covid there was a misconception that vaccines would stop you from feeling ill. The first thing you focus on when you\u2019re making a vaccine is keeping people safe and keeping them alive. If you can lower the symptoms, that\u2019s great, but if you can\u2019t, you\u2019re still going to try and make a vaccine that will keep people alive.<\/p>\n So there is sometimes a misconception that a vaccine is going to stop the spread, it\u2019s going to stop transmission, and it\u2019s going to keep you healthy all the way through an infection.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I think we just need to be honest around what we can and can\u2019t expect from these different types of vaccines.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n What are some of the real challenges in this epidemic about where it\u2019s happening?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa Lambe:<\/strong> Contact tracing. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to be easy to do. When you\u2019re doing vaccine trials in these types of areas, typically you will vaccinate the contacts.<\/p>\n But if you can\u2019t trace the contacts, you\u2019re not going to be able to vaccinate them. And there is a lot of vaccine scepticism. So again, I think social scientists have a big role to play in this outbreak.<\/p>\n Read: Thailand to quarantine travellers from Ebola areas for 21 days<\/p>\n Why are there more epidemics of Ebola happening in the 21st century?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Teresa Lambe:<\/strong> That\u2019s quite a complicated question. Global warming \u2013 not just for Ebola outbreaks, but also for other haemorrhagic fevers and zoonotic diseases. Globalisation as well. We are encroaching into habitats, where these viruses are more easily found.<\/p>\n We are at least able to detect them (when we put our mind to it) and develop the diagnostics more rapidly.<\/p>\n Rebecca Makinson:<\/strong> There\u2019s also a lot more mobility. That\u2019s potentially not causing an increase in the outbreaks, but it is adding extra considerations into how we manage them.<\/p>\n Do you think it\u2019s likely we might see more strains?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Rebecca Makinson:<\/strong> I wouldn\u2019t rule it out. There\u2019s a lot going on in bats that we don\u2019t know about. Scientists are doing serosurveys in bats to try and pick this information up. But I think that\u2019s a real possibility. Teresa Lambe is Calleva head of vaccine immunology at the University of Oxford and Rebecca Makinson is a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford<\/em><\/p>\n This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n #hunt #Ebola #vaccine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The ongoing Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda has killed dozens of people, with over 350 confirmed cases. The Bundibugyo strain of the virus… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5536,9556,4026],"class_list":["post-7214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investing","tag-ebola","tag-hunt","tag-vaccine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/284452\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\")
<\/p>\n