Scientists developing new Ebola vaccine that could be ready in months: report

Scientists at the University of Oxford are developing a vaccine that could be ready within months to help curb the Ebola outbreak, according to a report on Friday.

The researchers said they are working urgently in case the outbreak escalates and their experimental vaccine is needed, the BBC reported.

The vaccine uses the same technology the team developed during the COVID-19 pandemic - a highly adaptable technology, known as ChAdOx1 -- that can be quickly modified to work against different infections.

"Once we get starting material to them they can go fast and they can go big," Teresa Lambe, Calleva head of Vaccine Immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, told the BBC.

Testing underway

Animal testing of the vaccine is believed to already be under way in Oxford, according to the report.

The outbreak was officially announced on May 15 in Ituri province in eastern Congo. Since then, Congolese health officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) have logged roughly 600 suspected infections and 139 deaths.

The outbreak has since expanded to North Kivu and now South Kivu.