Health workers in Bunia have begun receiving the Ervebo vaccine as the Democratic Republic of the Congo battles its fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. With confirmed cases topping 7,541 and deaths surpassing 3,639, officials are administering the shot to frontline staff under a compassionate-use programme while clinical trials prepare for October or November. On 17 September 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reported a total of 7 475 confirmed cases, including 3 605 related deaths from data up until 16 September, with a total of 905 patients hospitalised in isolation.
What began quietly in the mineral-rich Ituri province in mid-May has expanded across multiple provinces, fuelled by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola. The vast central African country’s 17th Ebola outbreak was declared on 15 May, though the World Health Organization 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 Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday said the current outbreak was the fastest-growing ever
. Dr Wessam Mankoula, head of emergency preparedness and response, told reporters that Dr Wessam Mankoula stated that that was the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever, not only among the previous Bundibugyo outbreaks, but all the different viruses that are causing Ebola.
Vaccine Rollout Targets Frontline Staff in Ituri
The vaccination campaign officially started on Saturday in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in the northeastern DRC, which is the epicentre of the fastest-growing outbreak of Ebola in history. The provincial governor, Major-General Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said health workers there that those individuals were particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response. The operation, backed by the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, will also target North Kivu, where cases have been rising sharply, health authorities said.
Some 50,000 health and other frontline workers will be injected with the Ervebo vaccine, which was developed for use against the more common Zaire strain. Its effectiveness against the current Ebola strain caused by the Bundibugyo virus will be monitored in 20,000 recipients for up to one year. Clinical trials are ongoing to find a licensed vaccine for the latest outbreak, which has no licensed vaccine or proven treatment. Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official who is part of the health task force against the Ebola outbreak, stated: Steve Ahuka stated that they did not know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain.
Logistical Strain and Treatment Trials Across Affected Provinces
The 71 new cases have been reported from Ituri (41 cases), North Kivu (27 cases), Haut-Uélé (two cases), and Tshopo (one case). Among the individuals who tested positive for Bundibugyo virus, 1 798 have recovered, and in total, 87.6% of identified case contacts are under follow-up in the affected provinces. Ituri province remains the most affected, with 5 792 cases, including 2 642 deaths, reported from 28 of 36 health zones. In North Kivu, 1 350 cases, including 828 deaths, have been reported from 16 of 34 health zones. In South Kivu, three cases, including one death, have been reported from one of 34 health zones. In Haut-Uélé, 292 cases, including 118 deaths, have been reported from six of 13 health zones. In Tshopo, 30 cases, including 11 deaths, have been reported from seven of 23 health zones. In Bas-Uélé, seven cases, including four deaths, have been reported from three of 11 health zones, alongside one case and one death in Sud Ubangi.
Anne Ancia, the WHO’s representative in the DRC, said Tuesday that Anne Ancia stated that the outbreak continued to expand, and its true scale had not yet been fully established. The WHO’s figures for the DRC, which come from the health authorities in the vast country, show that the outbreak there has a case fatality rate of 34 percent, while Congolese health authorities have also referenced a case fatality rate of 45.9%. A total of 285 patients in the DRC have recovered, while 304 are suspect cases. 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. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that two new vaccines against Bundibugyo virus were now in safety trials in the UK and Canada, with one being developed by the US-based Moderna group using mRNA technology and another by the University of Oxford.
International Spillovers and Surveillance Metrics
Two other people have died in neighbouring Uganda, where 17 patients have recovered out of 20 total confirmed cases. Responders have been playing catch-up and scrambling for ways to halt the spread in the restive east of the country plagued by a litany of armed groups. Sania Nishtar, chief executive of the Gavi global vaccine alliance, said that the outbreak is considered the largest in the country’s history Sania Nishtar stated that it could well become the largest outbreak ever. Aid workers note that many health workers have gone on strike to protest lack of payment for their work since the outbreak was declared, while the official death toll from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak has passed more than 3,000 people, out of over 6,000 infected.
