Trials of new Ebola vaccine set to begin
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 13 July 2026
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A new vaccine to tackle Ebola will now be tested on people after the UK regulator gave permission for trials to take place. University of Oxford scientists began developing the vaccine - aimed at tackling the Bundibugyo species of the virus - eight weeks ago, when a public health emergency was declared by the World Health Organization. It is the first - out of four vaccines under development - to enter clinical trials. The epidemic, centred on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has killed more than 700 people.
Also: the dispute over who controls the Strait of Hormuz has intensified with some of the heaviest exchanges of fire since the US and Iran agreed an interim peace deal last month. The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has visited the wildfire zone in the southern province of Almería, where 13 people have died. Almost 3 million people in China have been evacuated from their homes as a result of Typhoon Bavi. The actor Sam Neill, known for films such as Jurassic Park and the Piano, has died at the age of 78.
The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk Photo: Researcher Alex Sampson holds the experimental Ebola vaccine Credit: BBC/TREVOR LLOYD
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.6 | This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:10.1 | Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 15 hours GMT on Monday the 13th of July. |
| 0:16.4 | Britain approves trials for a new vaccine to tackle the worsening Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. |
| 0:22.9 | President Trump says the US will reinstate its naval blockade of Iran, and Ukrainian attacks cause trouble for drivers in Russia. |
| 0:33.4 | Also in this podcast? You've got this network of spies operating under Japan's nose |
| 0:39.1 | and Japanese manufacturers' parts repeatedly turning up on the battlefield in Ukraine. |
| 0:44.1 | The New York Times says Russia is taking advantage of weak espionage laws in Japan. |
| 0:52.7 | In May, the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, |
| 0:58.3 | a public health emergency of international concern. |
| 1:02.2 | Now, the Congolese authorities say it has spread to two new provinces, |
| 1:06.4 | but efforts are underway to fight back. |
| 1:09.0 | Regulators in the UK have approved trials of a new vaccine |
| 1:12.2 | that's been in development since that WHO declaration. It's one of four aimed at countering the |
| 1:18.1 | Bundy-Budgio species of the virus, but the first to enter human trials. Alex Sampson is one of the |
| 1:23.8 | researchers at Oxford University. The way we've been able to make this vaccine so quickly, there's a few reasons. |
| 1:29.1 | One of these is that we're using the same vaccine technology |
| 1:31.5 | that we're used to make the Oxford Astrosenica COVID vaccine. |
| 1:34.2 | We've also got a lot of experience in the team, both using that platform |
| 1:36.9 | and working on vaccines against different Ebola viruses. |
| 1:39.9 | And so because of that combined experience, we were able to respond really, really quickly. |
| 1:43.5 | I got the details from our medical editor, Fergus Walsh. |
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