More than 2,000 deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo have prompted international health authorities to accelerate efforts to test a vaccine against the highly contagious hemorrhagic fever.
The outbreak is now the country’s second-deadliest on record. It trails the 2018-2020 crisis, which killed nearly 2,300 people among 3,500 recorded cases.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged a full-scale human trial of Ervebo, the only approved Ebola vaccine, to assess whether it can provide cross-protection against the strain currently circulating in the DRC. No vaccine specifically targets that strain.
Ervebo has demonstrated safety and effectiveness against the more prevalent Zaire strain. However, WHO experts said preliminary evidence, including findings from animal trials, indicates the vaccine could also provide some protection against the rarer Bundibugyo strain behind the current outbreak in the DRC.
