Congo gets 70,000 Ervebo doses as Ebola outbreak surges

Bunia,UPDATED: Aug 20, 2026 17:22 IST

Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, the World Health Organisation and its partners said on Thursday, in a move seen as a major boost to efforts to contain what officials have described as the fastest Ebola outbreak in history.

The vaccine shipment comes as the outbreak in eastern Congo has killed 2,476 people out of 5,208 confirmed cases. Officials have said it has infected and killed more people at a faster pace than any other Ebola outbreak.

Ervebo is licensed for use against the Ebola virus, one of the viruses that causes Ebola disease, but not against the Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for the current outbreak. WHO said in a statement that while it is not known whether Ervebo may protect against the Bundibugyo virus, "early laboratory and animal data suggest it may provide some protection".

According to WHO, the allocation includes 20,000 doses for a Phase 3 clinical trial to understand the impact of the vaccine on the Bundibugyo virus. The remaining 50,000 doses will be used for frontline and health workers, as recommended by WHO experts.

The lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus has been a major challenge for responders. Most new cases are also being reported outside the group of people under monitoring, showing that the virus has spread quickly and that surveillance teams are racing to catch up.

The outbreak is spreading about three times faster than the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which remains the deadliest on record with more than 11,000 deaths. The arrival of Ervebo doses is expected to support the response, even as officials continue to study how effective the vaccine may be against the Bundibugyo virus.

With PTI Inputs

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