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Recent Scientific Advances in Vaccination against Ebola and Marburg Virus...
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Recent Scientific Advances in Vaccination against Ebola and Marburg Virus Diseases

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Vaccines against Tropical and other Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 8954

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Daniela Manno

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
Interests: epidemiology; vaccines; infectious diseases; emerging infections; clinical trials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ebola and Marburg virus diseases are severe infections in people and non-human primates (NHPs) with a high case-fatality rate.

Ebola disease is caused by an infection with one of four viruses within the genus Ebolavirus: Ebola virus (species Zaire ebolavirus), Sudan virus (species Sudan ebolavirus), Taï Forest virus (species Taï Forest ebolavirus) and Bundibugyo virus (species Bundibugyo ebolavirus). Marburg virus disease is caused by the Marburg virus, a member of the same family (Filoviridae) that includes the ebolaviruses. Marburg virus and ebolaviruses circulate in wildlife. The reservoir host of Marburg virus is the African fruit bat, but the virus has also been isolated in other bat species. Bats are also likely to be the host reservoir of ebolaviruses, although this has not been confirmed.

Both diseases are rare but can cause deadly outbreaks, which in particular settings, such as countries with weak health infrastructure or areas of conflict, can remain uncontrolled for months or years, claiming many lives. The largest outbreak of Ebola disease was caused by Zaire ebolavirus and occurred in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, with over 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths. The largest outbreak of Marburg virus disease occurred in Angola in 2004–2005 and resulted in more than 350 cases and 300 deaths. An Ebola disease outbreak due to Sudan ebolavirus occurred recently in Uganda and caused 164 cases and 55 deaths.

Large outbreaks have devastating consequences on the affected populations, which go beyond the lives lost due to the disease itself and include the lives lost to other diseases that are neglected during outbreaks and the substantial socio-economic costs.

Due to climate and environmental changes with the increasing interactions between humans and wildlife hosts, Ebola and Marburg outbreaks could become more frequent. It is, therefore, extremely important to develop and reinforce prevention and control strategies in at-risk countries in order to limit the extent of future outbreaks.

Vaccines play a key role in responses to epidemic threats and have been an important part of the response to Ebola disease outbreaks due to Zaire ebolavirus since the 2014–16 West African outbreak. However, there remain questions about the use of vaccines during and outside outbreaks. There are also no licensed vaccines against the Sudan and Marburg viruses, although several candidates are under development.

This Special Issue aims to collect recent scientific knowledge and advances in vaccination against the Ebola and Marburg virus diseases. We are interested in a broad area of research, including clinical trials, vaccine roll-out strategies, mathematical modelling, NHP studies and literature reviews that can inform future vaccination strategies against these diseases.

Dr. Daniela Manno
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Ebola virus
  • Marburg virus
  • vaccines
  • clinical trials
  • mathematical modelling
  • literature reviews
  • epidemiological studies
  • animal studies

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1129 KiB  
Article
Immunogenicity of an Extended Dose Interval for the Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola Vaccine Regimen in Adults and Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
by Edward Man-Lik Choi, Kambale Kasonia, Hugo Kavunga-Membo, Daniel Mukadi-Bamuleka, Aboubacar Soumah, Zephyrin Mossoko, Tansy Edwards, Darius Tetsa-Tata, Rockyath Makarimi, Oumar Toure, Grace Mambula, Hannah Brindle, Anton Camacho, Nicholas E. Connor, Pierre Mukadi, Chelsea McLean, Babajide Keshinro, Auguste Gaddah, Cynthia Robinson, Kerstin Luhn, Julie Foster, Chrissy h. Roberts, John Emery Johnson, Nathalie Imbault, Daniel G. Bausch, Rebecca F. Grais, Deborah Watson-Jones and Jean Jacques Muyembe-Tamfumadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Vaccines 2024, 12(8), 828; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12080828 - 23 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1769
Abstract
During the 2018–2020 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo, a phase 3 trial of the Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine (DRC-EB-001) commenced in Goma, with participants being offered the two-dose regimen given 56 days apart. Suspension of trial activities in [...] Read more.
During the 2018–2020 Ebola virus disease outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo, a phase 3 trial of the Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine (DRC-EB-001) commenced in Goma, with participants being offered the two-dose regimen given 56 days apart. Suspension of trial activities in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to some participants receiving a late dose 2 outside the planned interval. Blood samples were collected from adults, adolescents, and children prior to their delayed dose 2 vaccination and 21 days after, and tested for IgG binding antibodies against Ebola virus glycoprotein using the Filovirus Animal Nonclinical Group (FANG) ELISA. Results from 133 participants showed a median two-dose interval of 9.3 months. The pre-dose 2 antibody geometric mean concentration (GMC) was 217 ELISA Units (EU)/mL (95% CI 157; 301) in adults, 378 EU/mL (281; 510) in adolescents, and 558 EU/mL (471; 661) in children. At 21 days post-dose 2, the GMC increased to 22,194 EU/mL (16,726; 29,449) in adults, 37,896 EU/mL (29,985; 47,893) in adolescents, and 34,652 EU/mL (27,906; 43,028) in children. Participants receiving a delayed dose 2 had a higher GMC at 21 days post-dose 2 than those who received a standard 56-day regimen in other African trials, but similar to those who received the regimen with an extended interval. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Advances in Vaccination against Ebola and Marburg Virus Diseases)
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14 pages, 979 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Previous Exposure to Malaria Infection and Clinical Malaria Episodes on the Immune Response to the Two-Dose Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola Vaccine Regimen
by Daniela Manno, Catriona Patterson, Abdoulie Drammeh, Kevin Tetteh, Mattu Tehtor Kroma, Godfrey Tuda Otieno, Bolarinde Joseph Lawal, Seyi Soremekun, Philip Ayieko, Auguste Gaddah, Abu Bakarr Kamara, Frank Baiden, Muhammed Olanrewaju Afolabi, Daniel Tindanbil, Kwabena Owusu-Kyei, David Ishola, Gibrilla Fadlu Deen, Babajide Keshinro, Yusupha Njie, Mohamed Samai, Brett Lowe, Cynthia Robinson, Bailah Leigh, Chris Drakeley, Brian Greenwood and Deborah Watson-Jonesadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Vaccines 2023, 11(8), 1317; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11081317 - 2 Aug 2023
Viewed by 2148
Abstract
We assessed whether the immunogenicity of the two-dose Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine regimen with a 56-day interval between doses was affected by exposure to malaria before dose 1 vaccination and by clinical episodes of malaria in the period immediately after dose 1 and [...] Read more.
We assessed whether the immunogenicity of the two-dose Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine regimen with a 56-day interval between doses was affected by exposure to malaria before dose 1 vaccination and by clinical episodes of malaria in the period immediately after dose 1 and after dose 2 vaccinations. Previous malaria exposure in participants in an Ebola vaccine trial in Sierra Leone (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02509494) was classified as low, intermediate, and high according to their antibody responses to a panel of Plasmodium falciparum antigens detected using a Luminex MAGPIX platform. Clinical malaria episodes after vaccinations were recorded as part of the trial safety monitoring. Binding antibody responses against the Ebola virus (EBOV) glycoprotein (GP) were measured 57 days post dose 1 and 21 days post dose 2 by ELISA and summarized as Geometric Mean Concentrations (GMCs). Geometric Mean Ratios (GMRs) were used to compare groups with different levels of exposure to malaria. Overall, 587 participants, comprising 188 (32%) adults (aged ≥ 18 years) and 399 (68%) children (aged 1–3, 4–11, and 12–17 years), were included in the analysis. There was no evidence that the anti-EBOV-GP antibody GMCs post dose 1 and post dose 2 differed between categories of previous malaria exposure. There was weak evidence that the GMC at 57 days post dose 1 was lower in participants who had had at least one episode of clinical malaria post dose 1 compared to participants with no diagnosed clinical malaria in the same period (GMR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69–0.98, p-value = 0.02). However, GMC post dose 2 was not reduced in participants who experienced clinical malaria post-dose 1 and/or post-dose 2 vaccinations. In conclusion, the Ad26.ZEBOV, MVA-BN-Filo Ebola vaccine regimen is immunogenic in individuals with previous exposure to malaria and in those who experience clinical malaria after vaccination. This vaccine regimen is suitable for prophylaxis against Ebola virus disease in malaria-endemic regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Advances in Vaccination against Ebola and Marburg Virus Diseases)
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Review

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10 pages, 256 KiB  
Review
Developing Vaccines to Improve Preparedness for Filovirus Outbreaks: The Perspective of the USA Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)
by Lindsay A. Parish, Eric J. Stavale, Christopher R. Houchens and Daniel N. Wolfe
Vaccines 2023, 11(6), 1120; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11061120 - 19 Jun 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2734
Abstract
Outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by filoviruses have become more prevalent in recent years, with outbreaks of Ebola virus (EBOV), Sudan virus (SUDV), and Marburg virus (MARV) all occurring in 2022 and 2023. While licensed vaccines are now available for EBOV, vaccine [...] Read more.
Outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by filoviruses have become more prevalent in recent years, with outbreaks of Ebola virus (EBOV), Sudan virus (SUDV), and Marburg virus (MARV) all occurring in 2022 and 2023. While licensed vaccines are now available for EBOV, vaccine candidates for SUDV and MARV are all in preclinical or early clinical development phases. During the recent outbreak of SUDV virus disease, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), as part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, implemented key actions with our existing partners to advance preparedness and enable rapid response to the outbreak, while also aligning with global partners involved in the implementation of clinical trials in an outbreak setting. Beyond pre-existing plans prior to the outbreak, BARDA worked with product sponsors to expedite manufacturing of vaccine doses that could be utilized in clinical trials. While the SUDV outbreak has since ended, a new outbreak of MARV disease has emerged. It remains critical that we continue to advance a portfolio of vaccines against SUDV and MARV while also expediting manufacturing activities ahead of, or in parallel if needed, outbreaks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Advances in Vaccination against Ebola and Marburg Virus Diseases)

Other

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28 pages, 13098 KiB  
Systematic Review
Seroprevalence of Antibodies to Filoviruses with Outbreak Potential in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review to Inform Vaccine Development and Deployment
by Christopher S. Semancik, Hilary S. Whitworth, Matt A. Price, Heejin Yun, Thomas S. Postler, Marija Zaric, Andrew Kilianski, Christopher L. Cooper, Monica Kuteesa, Sandhya Talasila, Nina Malkevich, Swati B. Gupta and Suzanna C. Francis
Vaccines 2024, 12(12), 1394; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12121394 - 11 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1328
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses are filoviruses that can cause viral hemorrhagic fever and significant morbidity and mortality in humans. The evaluation and deployment of vaccines to prevent and control Ebola and Marburg outbreaks must be informed by an understanding of the transmission [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses are filoviruses that can cause viral hemorrhagic fever and significant morbidity and mortality in humans. The evaluation and deployment of vaccines to prevent and control Ebola and Marburg outbreaks must be informed by an understanding of the transmission and natural history of the causative infections, but little is known about the burden of asymptomatic infection or undiagnosed disease. This systematic review of the published literature examined the seroprevalence of antibodies to orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (ID: CRD42023415358) and previously published. Eighty-seven articles describing 85 studies were included, of which seventy-six measured antibodies to orthoebolaviruses and forty-one measured antibodies to orthomarburgviruses. Results: The results highlight three central findings that may have implications for vaccine development and deployment. First, substantial antibody seropositivity to Ebola virus (EBOV) and Sudan virus (SUDV) was observed in populations from outbreak-affected areas (≤33% seroprevalence among general populations; ≤41% seroprevalence among healthcare workers and close contacts of disease cases). Second, antibody seropositivity to EBOV, SUDV, and Marburg virus (MARV) was observed among populations from areas without reported outbreaks, with seroprevalence ranging from <1 to 21%. Third, in Central and East Africa, MARV antibody seroprevalence was substantially lower than EBOV or SUDV antibody seroprevalence, even in outbreak-affected areas and in populations at a moderate or high risk of infection (with MARV seroprevalence mostly ranging from 0 to 3%). Conclusions: Whilst gaps remain in our understanding of the significance of antibody seropositivity in some settings and contexts, these findings may be important in considering target indications for novel filovirus vaccines, in defining study designs and strategies for demonstrating vaccine efficacy or effectiveness, and in planning and evaluating vaccine deployment strategies to prevent and control outbreaks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Scientific Advances in Vaccination against Ebola and Marburg Virus Diseases)
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