Ebola now has its vaccine, but not yet Marburg fever. This viral hemorrhagic fever, from the same family as Ebola, circulates mainly in Africa. Its case fatality rate can reach 88%. A vaccine is currently in development. Based on the same principle as that against Ebola, it would require a single dose. In Senegal, the Pasteur Institute in Dakar is working on the development of this vaccine candidate, as part of a technology transfer with an American laboratory. A strategic project for the health sovereignty of the continent.
With our correspondent in Dakar,
In the immaculate rooms of the vaccine research center of the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegalresearchers are examining new cell cultures. THE Marburg virus could soon be fought by a vaccine finalized on the African continent. The first work began in an American public laboratory, Public Health Vaccines, before transferring skills to Dakar. At the head of the vaccine research center, there is Doctor Marie-Angélique Sène:
« We are sent a process at laboratory level on a small scale and our teams work to develop it on an industrial scale. We have already completed most of the more complicated steps and we are preparing to restart the bioreactor runs to complete this process development and begin preparation for phase 1 of clinical trials. »
At this stage, it is still a vaccine candidate. The official technology transfer took place in December 2025, although the collaboration between the two teams had started much earlier. “ We didn’t have any researchers sent there. They sent us all the protocols, the processes. We work together, we share with them the elements we have developed, we validate together », Explains the doctor.
Also readMarburg virus: what you need to know about this pathogen, cousin of Ebola
« We cannot wait for the tools to be developed by European laboratories »
This is the first collaboration of this type for a viral vaccine at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar. But the establishment benefits from recognized expertise. It is notably a producer of the vaccine against measles and rubella, and it is also a collaborating center of theOMS. « The idea with this platform is really to be able to use the same method to produce vaccines, and in a really short time. This allows us, once we have mastered this platform, to be able to switch with any vaccine of interest at the moment. », Details Ndeye Marie Mba, head of the cell-based vaccine platform.
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Marburg fever today affects around twenty African countries, notablyEthiopiathe Tanzania and the Equatorial Guinea. Hence the importance of developing local solutions, as underlined by the general administrator of the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Doctor Ibrahima Fall:
« We cannot wait for diseases like this to be diagnosed by European laboratories, or for the tools to be developed by European laboratories. Producing locally is important in terms of health sovereignty. We saw it during the pandemicwhen the entire global supply system was completely at a standstill. In the absence of local production, it was difficult to access vaccines. »
Ultimately, the vaccine would be produced Diamniadio vaccinopolein the suburbs of Dakar. The Pasteur Institute in Dakar promises an affordable cost.
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