A Single-Dose Bundibugyo Virus Vaccine Protects Macaques Within 3 Days

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Authors: Kyle Lee O’Donnell, Jil Alexandra Haase, Corey W. Henderson, B. Ryder Gathright, Paige Fletcher, Joseph F. Rhoderick, Chad S. Clancy, Shilpi Jain, César G. Albariño, Brian J. Smith, Andrea Marzi
Cited by: 1
References: 37

Abstract

family, causes severe hemorrhagic disease with high case-fatality rates. Currently, there are no medical countermeasures approved for human use hampering the response to the large ongoing outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. While vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based vaccines have demonstrated fast-acting prophylactic single-dose efficacy against multiple filoviruses, it has yet to be defined for VSV-BDBV. Here, we evaluated the rapid protection by a single-dose vaccination of VSV-BDBV in nonhuman primates (NHPs). Vaccination elicited rapid innate and early adaptive immune responses and conferred complete protection from clinical disease against BDBV challenge within 3 days. Vaccinated NHPs exhibited minimal clinical signs, limited systemic inflammation, and no infectious virus was isolated from the blood at any time. Protection correlated with neutralizing antibodies and Fc effector functionality of the humoral immune response. These findings establish VSV-BDBV as a fast-acting vaccine candidate suitable for outbreak response and highlight immune mechanisms underlying rapid protection.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research Mosquito-borne diseases and control Respiratory viral infections research

Publication details

Journal / source
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Publisher
openRxiv
Publication date
15 June 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Preprint