Oxford University administered the first dose of its ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine — developed in just eight weeks — to a 37-year-old volunteer in Oxford on Friday, marking the start of the first human trial targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola driving a deadly outbreak across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The strain, for which no approved vaccines or treatments currently exist, has killed more than 1,270 people out of nearly 3,000 infections since the outbreak emerged in May, with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warning that actual case numbers could be more than double official figures due to conflict and insecurity limiting access in the DRC's northeastern provinces. The Phase 1 trial, funded by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and backed by a stockpile of 620,000 doses manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, will assess safety and effectiveness in 50 healthy adults, with further studies planned in Uganda pending regulatory approval.