The Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) has explained why no approved vaccine is currently available for the Ebola strain responsible for the latest outbreak spreading across parts of Africa.
The Director-General of the Africa CDC, Dr Jean Kaseya, said vaccine development and availability had been affected by the perception among international partners that Ebola was primarily an African health concern.
Kaseya made the disclosure on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief. 
“If this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccines would already be available,” he said.
The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a rare Ebola strain for which there is currently no licensed vaccine or specific treatment.
Kaseya explained that the situation differs from the Ebola virus strain responsible for the 2014–2016 West Africa outbreak, for which the Ervebo vaccine is licensed and available.
He said the Africa CDC had begun clinical trials of new vaccines, including a candidate vaccine against the Bundibugyo strain manufactured in Egypt.
According to him, the current outbreak is the most geographically widespread Ebola outbreak recorded, affecting three regions of Africa.
He added that more than 9,500 infections and about 4,600 deaths had been recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo alone.
Nigeria confirmed its first case of the outbreak on
Tuesday after a woman who arrived in the country from Uganda on October 3 tested positive for the virus.
Following the confirmation, 44 contacts linked to the case have been placed under surveillance as health authorities intensify efforts to prevent further transmission.
