Ethics · 4 Aug 2026

Bundibugyo Ebola strain PHEIC

With reference to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), consider the following statements:

  1. The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine currently exists.
  2. The World Health Organization declared this outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
  3. The trial vaccine ChAdOx1 BDBV has already completed Phase 3 trials and received full regulatory approval prior to its deployment in the DRC.
  4. "Parachute research" refers to foreign-led clinical research in low-resource settings that extracts trial data without securing the host population's long-term, affordable access to the resulting treatment.

How many of the above statements are correct?

AOnly one
BOnly two
COnly three
DAll four

Tests careful distinction between clinical trial phases (Phase 1 vs full approval) - a technical process detail requiring precise reading rather than general topic familiarity.

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This question is based on: Racing a Vaccine Through a War Zone: What Consent Means When You Have No Choice
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About this question

Why in news

The DRC's Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak, its worst on record with a nearly 44 percent case fatality rate, has prompted a WHO-declared PHEIC and fast-tracked human trials of an experimental vaccine in a conflict-affected region.

Why for UPSC

This tests whether aspirants can catch a significant overstatement of clinical trial progress (Phase 1 vs Phase 3/approved) - a common technique testing careful reading of technical process details rather than surface familiarity with the outbreak.

Prelims summary

The DRC's Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak has no approved vaccine; the WHO declared a PHEIC; the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine is only in Phase 1 (first-in-human) trials, not approved; "parachute research" denotes foreign-led extractive trials without guaranteed host-population access to resulting treatment.

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