Ebola outbreak: When will a vaccine be developed for the new strain?

The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has a fatality rate of up to 50 percent and no approved vaccine. WHO has declared the latest outbreak of a rare Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern. No vaccine or treatment exists for the Bundibugyo strain, and Ebola strains have killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past half-century. The outbreak’s epicenter is in Ituri in northeastern DRC near borders with Uganda and South Sudan, where cross-border movement is frequent due to gold mining. Cases have spread within DRC up to 200 km from ground zero and beyond DRC’s borders. Reported deaths and suspected cases are rising, with quarantines in Uganda and growing fear in both countries.

"The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has a fatality rate of up to 50 percent and no approved vaccine as yet. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that the latest outbreak of a rare strain of the Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is a public health emergency of international concern. No vaccine or treatment exists for the new Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, a disease whose strains have killed more than 15,000 people in Africa in the past half-century."

"The epicentre of the latest outbreak is in DRC's northeastern province of Ituri, close to the borders with Uganda and South Sudan, whose status as a gold-mining hub leads to people regularly crossing it. The virus has also spread into neighbouring provinces of DRC, as far as 200km (125 miles) away from what has been identified as the epidemic's ground zero as well as beyond the DRC's borders."

"The toll from the latest strain of the Ebola outbreak has risen to an estimated 131 deaths from 513 suspected cases, Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba told the media on Tuesday. Over the past 24 hours, 26 more cases have been suspected. In Uganda, according to the WHO, at least one person has died and two more people have been infected with the latest strain of the virus."

"In the DRC, from Bukavu to Kinshasa, concern is spreading among residents and street vendors as Ebola cases rise. In cities hundreds of miles apart, people are wearing face masks and calling for stronger protections fro"

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