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- Back to Bundibugio: Russia is ready to test the world's first vaccine against a new strain of Ebola
Back to Bundibugio: Russia is ready to test the world's first vaccine against a new strain of Ebola
Specialists from the Gamalei Institute have developed a vaccine against the Ebola strain Bundibugio, an outbreak of which is observed in Africa. There is currently no separate registered vaccine against this variant of the virus. The drug is based on a vaccine from the Zaire strain. Now the Ministry of Health must decide whether to test it as a new tool for a long time or as an upgrade of the old one, which is an order of magnitude faster. According to experts, an expedited procedure can be crucial. In addition, Russia is providing assistance to the affected countries. How a domestic development will help defeat the outbreak in Africa — in the Izvestia article.
How long will the tests take?
Specialists from the N.F. Gamalei Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology have completed the creation of an updated vaccine against the Bundibugio strain that caused the Ebola outbreak in Africa and has no treatment yet. It is based on a drug developed earlier at the institute against the most common variant of the Zaire pathogen. Scientists are ready to start testing the vaccine, the duration of which will depend on the decision of the Ministry of Health to recognize the development as a new drug or an update of an existing one. In the latter case, registration can be carried out according to an accelerated scheme.
— We have made vaccine strains. Now there are still regulatory issues. The drug is already available. Now we need to coordinate the scope of the tests. We used an existing Ebola vaccine and adapted it to the current strain. The test dates depend on the regulator. We are ready to start them, if they determine that this platform solution fully matches, then the preclinical stage is not necessary. And if it is necessary to show toxicology and protective effectiveness, then preclinical tests will need to be conducted. This will be discussed with WHO and the Ministry of Health in the near future," Denis Logunov, director of the center, told Izvestia.
Since the new vaccine was created on the basis of an already proven platform, the accelerated testing scheme is fully justified. Otherwise, they may take up to several years, Andrey Prodeus, chief children's allergist and immunologist at the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region, explained to Izvestia.
— It's the same carrier, but with a different antigen. It is important to check the immunogenicity of this particular updated site, and the safety of the carrier has already been confirmed. There is no need to go through the full range of tests. If you start them with toxicology and safety checks, this greatly lengthens the process. It will take at least 3.5–4 years, or even five to six years. It even took a year and a half to get a vaccine against coronavirus in a pandemic," the doctor said.
Now, in an emergency situation due to the outbreak in Africa, the countries where the infections occur will have to decide on the use of the drug in conjunction with WHO. Since such a focus of infection is an international issue.
— We have a good confirmed carrier. The antigen is not dangerous, so it remains only to understand the percentage of immunogenicity of the new drug. The vaccine will help stop the outbreak, as it is highly likely to be effective and will be able to limit the localization of infection," said Andrei Prodeus.
In his opinion, at the first stage, it is possible to start research on specialists whom Russia has sent to Congo and Uganda, as they need protection. Registration of the drug is not required for such experiments, and it will be possible to see how much the vaccine has increased their immunity, the doctor added.
There have already been examples in Russia when the registration of a vaccine with a new antigenic composition on an already proven platform was carried out according to a simplified scheme. This happened with the Sputnik Light drug, also created at the Gamaleya Institute, which was modified to fit new variants of SARS-CoV-2.
According to immunologist Mikhail Bolkov, a specific vaccine against the Ebola variant Bundibugio is very necessary to eliminate the outbreak in Africa. Immune protection after vaccination is formed within two to three weeks. This means that by the time the infection may spread to new territories, the vaccinated population will be protected from severe illness and death, and in some cases from infection, he added.
How Russia helps Africa
Due to the rapid spread of infection, Africa was completely unarmed in the face of a new crisis. The Bundibugio strain has a mortality rate of up to 50%. The total number of confirmed cases of infection in African countries exceeded 370 people, of which 63 were fatal. There are 363 cases in the epicenter of the infection — DR Congo. On June 5 alone, 18 people died, a total of 82 people died. Another 116 people are suspected of being infected with Ebola. In Uganda, 15 cases of infection and one death have been confirmed.
The CDC and WHO have included 10 countries in the high-risk Africa group. In the highest danger zone is South Sudan, which directly borders the Congolese province of Ituri, where the infection is rampant. The Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, Central African Republic, Kenya and Ethiopia are also at risk.
At the same time, Russia is helping to localize the virus in the DRC. Two mobile laboratories of Rospotrebnadzor based on armored vehicles, which the Russian Federation had previously donated to the country, are involved in working near the infection zones. In addition, in May 2026, at the official request of the Ugandan Ministry of Health, the first group of Russian virologists urgently flew to the country to provide assistance. A unique laboratory has also been deployed in the republic. This is a diagnostic center with the highest degree of biosafety, which can be assembled anywhere in a couple of days. Since the beginning of the year, the Russian Federation has trained more than 80 local specialists in Uganda.
A special mission of leading Russian scientists was sent to the Republic of the Congo. It included experts from the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor and the Federal Research Institute of Viral Infections Virom. Large batches of domestic test systems and consumables have already been delivered to the country.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has urgently allocated $60-62 million to accelerate the development of three foreign candidate vaccines (from Moderna, Oxford University and IAVI), which are currently under development and clinical trials. The first batches will appear no earlier than in six months.
The Russian vaccine will be accepted in African countries, as any help will be valuable, Vsevolod Sviridov, an expert at the HSE Center for African Studies, told Izvestia. According to him, it is important to pay attention to how delivery and logistics will be organized, as the experience of supplying the Sputnik-V vaccine against coronavirus has revealed certain difficulties.
One of the main problems then was the requirement of an ultra-cold temperature regime. The frozen form of the vaccine required constant storage in conditions no higher than minus 18 degrees at all stages of transportation. If it stays warm for only a few hours, the viral vector or protein contained in it is destroyed. In many African countries, there are not enough refrigerated trucks, and the drug is transported in ordinary cars, where it begins to heat up. Rural hospitals often do not have medical freezers, or they regularly turn off electricity. Attempts to use dry ice in thermocontainers dramatically increased the cost of logistics and limited the shelf life.
In addition, it is relatively easy to deliver cargo to the capital airport of an African country, but it is extremely difficult to distribute it to regional clinics. Due to the underdeveloped road infrastructure and huge distances, vaccines were stuck in central warehouses. In the case of the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, the situation is even worse: supplies will have to be delivered to hard-to-reach conflict zones where armed groups can control roads.
Doctors cannot safely reach a number of settlements to isolate patients due to the conflict in the DRC. The war has been going on for three decades. Despite the peace agreement between the DRC authorities and the M23 rebels in 2025, the situation has not changed dramatically, as there are over 100 armed groups in the country.
"There will definitely not be an Easter truce in honor of Ebola," Sviridov said. — The conflict has a very long history and deep prerequisites. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a permit in the long run. This case has been going on for 20-30 years.
Perhaps it is the Russian vaccine that can turn the situation around. In the difficult conditions faced by DR Congo and the Central African region as a whole, the importance of any effective development will only grow. For our country, this can be not only a contribution to the fight against the epidemic, but also an important confirmation of its role as one of Africa's key partners.
The spread of Ebola in Africa is pushing a number of States to extreme measures. For example, the United States and Canada have imposed strict entry restrictions on three countries — DRC, Uganda and South Sudan. The Russian side is preparing for the possibility of an emergency evacuation of compatriots from the Central African Republic and Kenya. At the same time, no similar measures are planned in other African countries. In particular, the Russian Embassy in Burundi told Izvestia that the suspension of visa processing for citizens of the republic and the formation of lists for emergency evacuation are not being considered.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
