Real reason Africa is without vaccine for latest Ebola strain — Africa CDC

The Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Jean Kaseya, has blamed limited international interest for the absence of an approved vaccine against the Bundibugyo Ebola strain.

Speaking on Thursday during Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, as reported by Vanguard, Kaseya urged African countries to invest in vaccine development and manufacturing.

“I can tell you, if this outbreak was in Western countries, vaccine will already be available. Why this vaccine today is not available? Because some of our partners decided to consider this issue as an African issue, they were not interested.”

He disclosed that an Egyptian manufacturer was developing a vaccine candidate, while discussions continued with Congo and Uganda over additional trials.

“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.

The Bundibugyo strain currently has no licensed vaccine or approved specific treatment.