The Oxford Vaccine Group began dosing the first participants Monday in the world's first human trial of a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo continues to spread. The BD-Ebov trial will assess safety and immune response in healthy adults in the United Kingdom.

The World Health Organization has warned that the current Congo outbreak is spreading faster than any previously recorded. Existing licensed Ebola vaccines target only the Zaire strain, leaving no approved protection against Bundibugyo and Sudan species.

Professor Teresa Lambe, who leads the Oxford Vaccine Group's work, said the candidate uses the same viral-vector platform behind earlier Ebola and Marburg vaccine research at the university. The early-phase study will enrol dozens of volunteers before any larger efficacy trials in affected regions could proceed.

WHO and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations have called for vaccines covering all Ebola strains, citing repeated outbreaks across central and east Africa. Researchers cautioned that regulatory approval remained years away, even if early data proved encouraging.

The Congo health ministry reported continued transmission in affected districts, with response teams from WHO and Médecins Sans Frontières supporting containment efforts. Contact tracing and ring vaccination with existing Zaire-strain vaccines are being deployed where applicable.