The Democratic Republic of the Congo is preparing to roll out the Ervebo Ebola vaccine in a limited trial, as health officials race to contain an outbreak that the WHO says is now spreading faster than efforts to stop it.
Ervebo is already known to protect against the Zaïre strain of Ebola. This time, 20,000 doses will be used in a clinical trial to see if it also works against Bundibugyo, the rare species driving the current outbreak.
Another 50,000 doses will go to front-line health workers.
Bundibugyo has no proven vaccine or treatment. The WHO said infections are “growing exponentially” across the north and east, in an area now larger than France. Close to 2,500 people have died since the outbreak was declared three months ago.
WHO Ebola coordinator Julien Harneis told reporters that half of those deaths came in just the last 20 days.
“It is growing faster and wider than the Ebola response,” he said, according to AFP.
Experts believe Bundibugyo may have been circulating since February but was first mistaken for typhoid and malaria. The response has also been slowed by conflict, distrust of health teams, and burial practices that can spread the virus.
A Save the Children report estimates at least 180 children have lost both parents or caregivers.
If confirmed, this would be the deadliest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo’s history, and the second-worst globally after the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people.
The WHO and Africa CDC welcomed the vaccine allocation as a critical boost. Burial protocols remain strict to prevent transmission from bodies.
Complicating matters, the M23 rebel group that controls parts of eastern DR Congo announced new movement restrictions starting Saturday. Shared taxis and passenger boats between government and rebel areas in North Kivu will be suspended for one month.
Other transport will continue with health checks. M23 said the move follows two confirmed cases in a village under its control. The group, which seized Goma and Bukavu in early 2025, also said in late June that its zones were Ebola-free and has been running its own parallel response.
Bundibugyo Ebola is extremely rare, with only two prior known outbreaks. Early symptoms mirror flu and malaria: fever, headache, and fatigue, appearing 2 to 21 days after exposure.
As it progresses, patients can develop vomiting, diarrhea, and organ failure. The virus spreads through contact with infected bodily fluids like blood and vomit.
