Marburg Vaccine Testing Accelerated in Rwanda

Amidst a Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda, vaccine testing is being fast-tracked. The cAd3-Marburg vaccine, developed by NIAID and tested in phase 1 trials last year, showed promising results with no severe adverse effects. However, its practical effectiveness remains untested. Phase 2 clinical trials began earlier this year in Uganda and Kenya but haven't completed yet. Normally, phase 3 trials follow successful phase 2 tests, but the urgency of the outbreak might accelerate this process. The WHO has already approved protocols for vaccine testing during an outbreak, which now await approval from Rwanda’s ethics committee.

A ring vaccination strategy will be employed, where contacts of infected individuals are vaccinated and compared to a delayed group. Antibody treatments, successful in previous Ebola cases, might also be tested. The challenge lies in the limited vaccine supply—only around 2000 doses available, with fewer than half produced by April 2023. Sabin Vaccine Institute and Oxford University have capacity for rapid production if needed.

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