Ebola vaccine being tested in DR Congo outbreak zone

Health workers in parts of the DR Congo, badly hit by a deadly Ebola outbreak, launched a test vaccination programme on Saturday (September 20, 2026) to see if jabs designed for a different strain of the virus could prove effective in this case.

The operation, backed by the World Health Organization and the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity, will see 20,000 frontline health personnel given the Ervebo vaccination in the Ituri and North-Kivu provinces, in a study lasting up to a year.

The current Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 3,639 people out of 7,541 confirmed cases, according to the latest figures from the country's authorities. That is a fatality rate of 48.3%.

It is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.