Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have launched an Ebola vaccination rollout targeting 50,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu provinces. The campaign utilizes the Ervebo vaccine to combat an outbreak driven by the Bundibugyo virus, which has recorded 7,541 confirmed cases and 3,639 deaths.
Frontline healthcare personnel in the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo began receiving an available Ebola vaccine as public health agencies grapple with the nation’s deadliest epidemic on record. The immunization effort kicked off in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, which serves as the epicenter of the fast-moving outbreak. While the outbreak was officially declared on May 15, epidemiological indicators suggest the virus had been circulating undetected since late January.
The Ervebo Rollout and the BRAVO Clinical Study
The current vaccination push deploys the Ervebo vaccine, a product originally developed and licensed to fight the Zaire strain of the Ebola virus. Because no licensed vaccines or approved treatments currently exist for the specific Bundibugyo species driving the ongoing crisis, health officials are administering Ervebo under a compassionate-use protocol.
The deployment is directly tied to a formalized research initiative known as the BRAVO study. Conducted by Medecins Sans Frontieres in collaboration with Congolese health authorities, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other scientific partners, the study aims to enroll about 20,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu, two provinces most affected by the outbreak. Participants will be monitored over time to assess the potential effect of Ervebo against the Bundibugyo virus.
The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision approved an initial allocation of 70,000 doses of Ervebo to the DRC in August. Of the total, 50,000 doses were allocated for health and frontline workers.
“We don’t know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain,”
Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official who is part of the health task force against the Ebola outbreak
The provincial governor, Major-General Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said health workers there are particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response. Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, governor of Ituri Province, received an Ebola vaccine in Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on September 19, 2026. Ebola vaccination was expanded Saturday to Ituri Province, with more than 3,700 people having received the Ervebo vaccine in the country. The operation is backed by the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, and will also target North Kivu, where cases have been rising sharply.
Epidemiological Toll and Regional Response Challenges
Since the last Disease Outbreak News was published on 28 August 2026, the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has expanded to one additional health zone, Kayna, in North Kivu. This increase brings the total number of affected health zones to 61 across six out of 26 provinces of the country: Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tshopo. As of 7 September 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 6757 confirmed cases, including 3267 deaths, resulting in a crude case fatality ratio (CFR) of 48.3%. The transmission dynamics remain variable across affected locations, with evidence of ongoing geographical expansion and sustained increase in cases in some health zones. The continuously high CFR highlights the seriousness of the disease and persistent challenges in timely case detection, access to early and adequate patient care, and effective interruption of transmission. Delayed detection of cases continues to increase the risk of further spread within households, communities, and healthcare settings. Since the publication of the previous Disease Outbreak News on 28 August 2026, additional confirmed cases and deaths of Bundibugyo virus disease (BVD) have been reported only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 7 September 2026, a cumulative total of 6778 confirmed cases has been reported: 6757 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (including two cases diagnosed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and subsequently treated in Germany), 20 cases in Uganda and one case in France.
Compounding the medical emergency is the security landscape in eastern and northeastern regions, which are heavily impacted by a litany of armed groups. Public health responders have repeatedly reported playing catch-up and scrambling for ways to halt the spread as a result, in the restive east of the country.
Pipeline Vaccines and Upcoming Efficacy Trials
Trials for three potential vaccines against the Ebola strain that has killed thousands in the DR Congo should begin by October or November, the World Health Organization said. The official death toll from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak passed more than 3,000 people, out of over 6,000 infected. The vast central African country’s 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on 15 May. However, the WHO believes the deadly virus began spreading under the radar as early as late January. Among the many challenges facing the response is the lack of any approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo species of Ebola behind the outbreak. The WHO said efficacy trials for three potential vaccines were drawing closer.
“Two new vaccines against Bundibugyo virus are now in safety trials in the UK and Canada,”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO chief, speaking to reporters in Geneva
One is being developed by the US-based Moderna group using mRNA technology and another by the University of Oxford. The WHO has also recommended a full-scale human trial of Ervebo, a vaccine approved for use against the more common Zaire strain of Ebola, to see if it offered any cross-protection against Bundibugyo. Early data suggests that Ervebo, which is made by Merck, could offer some degree of protection in humans against the other strain. However, Mr Tedros insisted that trials were needed.