CEPI-backed trial of Rift Valley fever jab starts in Kenya
Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya
A promising vaccine candidate for Rift Valley fever (RVF) has been advanced into a phase 2 trial in Kenya, the first time that a shot has reached this stage of development in a country where the disease is endemic.
The trial is funded by CEPI, a partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations that supports the development of vaccines against future epidemics and pandemics and is testing a vaccine developed by the same University of Oxford team that came up with AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot.
RVF is a primarily mosquito-borne zoonotic disease that mostly affects animals, but can also infect humans and has been labelled as a priority for R&D by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus can also be transmitted through exposure to infected animals or carcasses and consumption of unpasteurised or uncooked milk.
In humans, the disease ranges from a mild flu-like illness to severe haemorrhagic fever that can cause blindness, convulsions, encephalitis, and bleeding, with mortality rates of up to 50%, according to the WHO. Outbreaks occur every few years in countries where RFV is endemic and have claimed dozens of lives in recent years.
Vaccines have been registered for veterinary use, but so far none are currently available or licensed for human use. The new candidate – called ChAdOx1 RVF – is being tested in 240 healthy adults in the new study, which is led by researchers from the University of Oxford, and the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Wellcome Trust Research Programme.
ChAdOx1 RVF is one of three RFV vaccines being supported by CEPI, and the furthest ahead in development. The others are two live, attenuated vaccines developed by scientists at the University of California, Davis in the US and Wageningen Bioveterinary Research in Belgium, which are in the early stages of clinical development.
RFV was first identified in Kenya's Rift Valley around 100 years ago has been detected across much of Africa and also in the Middle East. With climate change, there are concerns that outbreaks could increase in frequency and size and also that the range of the disease could spread to new countries.
"The launch of a phase 2 clinical trial of a Rift Valley fever vaccine candidate in an endemic country is a crucial milestone in our efforts to control this disease," said Africa CDC Director General Dr Jean Kaseya.
"The ChAdOx1 RVF vaccine offers hope to vulnerable populations who are disproportionately affected by the growing impact of climate change," he added.
