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Two Scientists on Their Race to Make a New Ebola Vaccine
As health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continue to battle an ongoing Ebola outbreak, scientists around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against the strain of the virus that’s causing it. Two approved vaccines exist for Ebola, but they target the Zaire strain of the virus, not the Bundibugyo strain causing the 2026 outbreak — which has so far killed 61 people, with 359 confirmed cases in the DRC and neighbouring Uganda.
The outbreak is centred in the Ituri province of northeastern DRC, where conflict, displaced people, a large migrant community and poorly resourced health facilities make stopping the spread particularly challenging.
In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to two scientists from the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, Teresa Lambe and Rebecca Makinson, who are developing a vaccine candidate for Bundibugyo virus. On June 1, they were among three research groups to receive fast-track funding from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, alongside Moderna and IAVI.
Local Rescue Secures Release of 135 Additional Beagles From Wisconsin Research Facility
Big Dog Ranch Rescue and Center for a Humane Economy secured the release of 135 more beagles from Ridglan Farms, a biomedical research facility in Wisconsin, as part of its ongoing effort to relocate and rehome dogs from the facility, the organization announced Tuesday.
The latest transfer follows a large-scale rescue on April 29 that saw approximately 1,500 beagles removed and placed with organizations across the country. Of the newly released dogs, 67 were transported to Big Dog Ranch Rescue’s Florida campus on June 3, where they underwent medical care, including spay and neuter procedures, before being made available for adoption nationwide.
The dogs arrived on Wednesday morning at an off-site location in Marshall, Wisconsin, where they will be received and processed before transport. Officials said video from the operation will be released later in the day. Lauree Simmons, founder and CEO of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said the effort underscores the impact of coordinated rescue operations and community support.
Americans Who Test Positive for Ebola at Kenya Facility Could Be Treated in US, Federal Officials Say
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Americans who test positive for Ebola while under observation at a facility in Kenya could be sent for treatment in the United States — an apparent shift from the Trump administration’s position that no Ebola cases would be allowed into the country.
“We’re not actually asking Kenya to set up treatment for Americans. I think the one that’s been very controversial is a misunderstanding. There is a facility that the Kenyans are allowing us to open. If there are any Americans that are exposed, potentially exposed, they will be transferred to this facility for observation,” Rubio said at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
“If they test positive at any time while in that facility, we will remove them from Kenya and send them to the nearest treatment facility, either in Europe or in the home — or in the United States, to be treated for Ebola,” he said. Rubio, who said last week that “we cannot and will not allow any cases of Ebola to enter the United States,” did not provide further details.
Ebola Is Spreading in Ways No One Fully Grasps. Use What I Know.
The Ebola crisis in Africa will spin out of control without a significant shift in the international response. More people will get infected, and 30 to 50 percent of those who contract the virus will die. Frontline aid workers, mostly Congolese, are risking their lives to stem the crisis, but they lack resources and are overwhelmed by the rising tide of cases.
The number of Ebola cases reported by the World Health Organization has gone up and down, which is understandable given the lack of lab-testing facilities in the affected region. It is likely, however, that the reported numbers are an undercount, not because of any effort to hide the true tally but because the virus is spreading in ways no one fully understands.
On Tuesday, the WHO reported that in the Democratic Republic of Congo there were 321 confirmed cases of Ebola, 116 suspected cases and 48 deaths. On May 29, the WHO said more than 900 people were suspected of having Ebola in the country, with more than 220 fatalities. WHO officials say case totals shift as people get tested.
Tools to Fight Hantavirus Show Promise Despite Limited Funding. Now Researchers Hope to Continue
U.S. News & World Report reported:
When a rare but deadly rodent-borne virus struck passengers on a cruise ship and seemed to be spreading, there were no treatments for those who fell ill and no vaccines to protect others. That was the case even though it wasn’t a novel germ that the world had never seen before, like the virus that caused the coronavirus pandemic. It was a hantavirus, one of a family of viruses that have been known for decades and are thought to exist around the world.
Teams of researchers, including in Chile, Argentina and the United States, have long been trying to find and develop drugs and vaccines. But because the viruses are relatively rare and don’t spread easily between people, there hasn’t been enough sustained investment by governments, global health groups, or drug companies to pay for the extensive safety and efficacy testing needed to make them available.
Still, there have been some promising developments. Researchers on Wednesday published a hint that a drug used for an autoimmune disease may help hantavirus patients fight off the most deadly symptoms. They and others hope the attention that the cruise ship outbreak brought to the virus — and concern that hantavirus infections could become more common as a changing climate is expected to increase contact between people and rodents — may bring new momentum to the hunt.
Hantavirus Death Confirmed in Northwestern Arizona
A Kingman-area resident has died from hantavirus, Mohave County health officials announced Monday. While authorities do not know exactly where the individual was exposed, they have not ruled out local transmission. Health officials emphasized that the strain the Kingman resident died from is completely different from the Andes strain that started a hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship in April.
The Kingman victim died from the Sin Nombre strain of hantavirus, which is historically found in Arizona and the Southwest. The Sin Nombre virus does not spread from person to person. Rodents such as deer mice typically carry it. People are often infected by breathing in dust contaminated with rodent droppings, urine, saliva or nesting materials.
FDA Says Nay: Agency Critiques Emails Sent by Pharma Company
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned pharmaceutical company QOL Medical that marketing emails it sent for its Sucraid product are false or misleading.
A letter sent by the FDA to the firm cites “claims and presentation” that might seem quite typical to some consumers:
Try Sucraid
“Do you have patients suffering with unresolved IBS-like symptoms, including gas, bloating, diarrhea, and/or nausea?”
“Could it be CSID?”
“Learn more about the only FDA-approved enzyme replacement for the treatment of CSID…”
What was wrong with these promotional statements? “These claims and presentations create a misleading impression about the indication for Sucraid,” the FDA says. “Specifically, they imply that because of overlapping symptoms with Surcrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (CSID), Sucraid can be used to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), when this is not the case.”
