Africa CDC chief says no Ebola vaccine for new strain because partners lost interest
- Dr Jean Kaseya of Africa CDC says the Bundibugyo Ebola strain has no licensed vaccine because international partners treated it as an African problem.
- He said an Egyptian manufacturer is running trials and Ervebo may be tested for the strain in DR Congo and Uganda.
- Nigeria confirmed its first imported case in Abuja on 20 October and is monitoring 44 contacts.
The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya, says the absence of an approved vaccine for the Ebola strain now spreading in parts of Africa comes down to who was paying attention.
Speaking on Channels Television's The Morning Brief on Thursday, Kaseya said some international partners treated the Bundibugyo strain as a problem for Africa alone, and that a vaccine would likely exist already if the outbreak had started elsewhere.
If this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccine would already be available,
he said, adding that the partners "were not interested".
The Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine and no approved specific treatment. The Zaire strain, by contrast, has Ervebo, a licensed vaccine, and has caused more than 16 outbreaks, according to Kaseya. He said Bundibugyo has simply had fewer outbreaks, and so drew less research money.
What is being done about it
Kaseya said Africa CDC is not waiting. A manufacturer in Egypt is running clinical trials of a candidate vaccine aimed at Bundibugyo, and the agency is working with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda on trials and compassionate use of Ervebo against this strain.
He said the continent has the scientists and the factory capacity to make its own vaccines, and should stop relying entirely on outsiders when emergencies hit.
We don't want to see Africa left behind. We have the knowledge, we have people with intelligence, we have capacity to manufacture vaccines, and we need to move on,
he said.
Money is also coming from closer to home. Kaseya said 28 African countries have put funds into the current response, which he called the first time so many had contributed.
According to Congolese health authorities, the outbreak was declared in DR Congo in May 2026 and has produced more than 9,000 confirmed cases and 4,381 deaths. Kenya's health ministry reported a ninth case in the country on Tuesday.
Why this matters in Nigeria
Nigeria confirmed its first imported case in the Federal Capital Territory on 20 October. The patient is a woman with recent travel history to Uganda, and she is receiving medical care. Health authorities have listed 44 contacts for monitoring.
With no vaccine for this strain, containing it depends on surveillance, contact tracing and quick isolation — the steps Nigerian health workers are now carrying out in Abuja.
What happens next: watch for trial results from the Egyptian candidate and for any decision on using Ervebo outside its licensed purpose. Nigerian authorities are expected to keep tracing and watching the 44 contacts.
