Clinical trials of the first Ebola vaccine have begun in the UK.

Scientists from the University of Oxford have begun the first clinical trials of a vaccine against a rare strain of the Ebola virus, Bundibugyo, for which there has been no approved protection against it until now. The development was a response to outbreaks in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where this variant of the virus had already caused epidemics.

The study will involve 50 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 years. During the first phase, experts will check the safety of the vaccine and also evaluate how effectively it stimulates the immune system to develop protection against the virus. If the drug shows good results, it will be tested on more people in the next stages of trials.

The Bundibugyo strain is much less common than the best-known Zaire variant of the Ebola virus, but it can also cause severe disease with a high mortality rate. In past outbreaks, the fatality rate has been around 40%, according to the World Health Organization.

The researchers note that creating a vaccine against different variants of the virus will help to respond more quickly to future epidemics and will improve the health system’s preparedness for new Ebola outbreaks, even if they are caused by less common strains.