Ebola and other deaths
Deadliest Ebola outbreak in history
https://www.cdc.gov/ebola/outbreaks/index.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
West African Ebola epidemic of 2014–2016
Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone.
Cases: 28,600 reported
Deaths: More than 11,300
Outbreak began in late 2013 in Guinea,
spread across borders into densely populated urban areas.
Second largest outbreak
Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2018–2020
Cases: 3,400
Deaths: 2,300
Global Malaria deaths, 2024
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria?stream=future&utm_source=chatgpt.com
Cases: 282 million
Deaths: 610, 000
2024 Malaria deaths in Africa
Cases: 265 million
Deaths: 579, 000
Children under 5
Accounted for 75% of all malaria deaths in Africa.
Other causes of death in Africa
https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/factsheets/factsheet-leading-causes-death-africa-2019?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://files.aho.afro.who.int/afahobckpcontainer/production/files/iAHO_Mortality_Regional-Factsheet.pdf
https://data.who.int/countries/
Lower respiratory infections, 774, 000
Diarrhoeal diseases, 496,000
HIV/AIDS, 435,000
Ischaemic heart disease, 429,000
Stroke, 426,000
TB, 378,000
Road injuries, 297,000
Hungry kids need food
https://data.unicef.org/topic/nutrition/malnutrition/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Nairobi, 23 April 2025 (UNICEF data)
https://www.unicef.org/esa/press-releases/13-million-children-malnourished-eastern-and-southern-africa-2025?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Acutely malnourished in 2025
13 million children
Severe acute malnutrition (SAM)
4 million children
Stunting (Childhood chronic undernutrition)
62 million children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa are stunted.
New vaccines for Bundibugyo ebolavirus
ChAdOx1 Bundibugyo vaccine (Oxford / Serum Institute)
Uses the chimpanzee adenovirus (ChAdOx1) platform
Similar technology was used in the Oxford AZ COVID-19 vaccine
Potentially be ready for early efficacy assessment in 2–3 months
How the ChAdOx system works
Genes for the antigen are inserted into a viral vector
Injection(im)
Biodistribution
Cell entry
Delivers DNA instructions into the cell
Antigen production
Cell manufactures the viral protein:
Both cause human cells to manufacture a viral antigen
COVID vaccine → spike protein
Ebola vaccine → Ebola glycoprotein
For the SARS-CoV-2, spike protein, immunologically important antigen, is believed to be associated with cells surfaces rather than freely circulating.
