If the current Ebola outbreak were in Western countries, vaccines would already be available

The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya, has expressed concern over the absence of an approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.

Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Kaseya suggested that international partners had not given the disease enough attention because it was largely viewed as an African problem.

“If this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccines would already be available,” he said.

He explained that while the Ebola strain responsible for the 2014–2016 West African epidemic has a licensed vaccine known as Ervebo, there is currently no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain.

Kaseya disclosed that Africa CDC had begun clinical trials for new vaccines, including a candidate developed in Egypt.

He also raised concerns about the scale of the outbreak, citing more than 9,500 infections and approximately 4,600 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meanwhile, Nigeria reportedly confirmed its first case on Tuesday in a woman who arrived from Uganda on October 3, with 44 contacts placed under monitoring.