Follow-up: WHO Puts DR Congo Ebola Cases at 10,668, Adds Two Bundibugyo-Specific Vaccine Candidates to Trial
KINSHASA — The World Health Organization's Disease Outbreak News of November 6 put the Democratic Republic of Congo's current Ebola outbreak at 10,668 confirmed cases and 5,198 deaths as of November 3, a crude case fatality ratio of 48.7 percent, with 2,881 recoveries. The outbreak has spread to 67 health zones in eight provinces, with Ituri province in the northeast remaining the epicentre. It is the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the DRC and the second-largest globally.
The outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, one of six known species in the Ebola genus, for which there is no approved vaccine or specific therapy.
WHO expert groups have recommended adding two vaccine candidates designed specifically against Bundibugyo virus to the Tumaini clinical trial under way in the country: ChAdOx1, developed by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna's mRNA-1469. It is the first time vaccines made specifically for Bundibugyo virus will be evaluated during an active outbreak. Both candidates still require approval from Congolese regulators, with initial results expected in early 2027.
The Tumaini trial, led by the DRC's Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, began on October 23 in Bunia and uses ring vaccination, offering vaccine to contacts of confirmed patients and their contacts. The first vaccine being evaluated in the trial is Ervebo, licensed against the Zaire species.
WHO noted that a high proportion of deaths are occurring in communities rather than treatment centres, particularly among young children, indicating gaps in early case detection. GSM previously reported the US CDC's assessment of 10,498 confirmed cases as of October 31, with sustained high-intensity spread in multiple areas as the most likely scenario.
(Source: World Health Organization)
Source: World Health Organization
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2026年刚果（金）本迪布焦病毒埃博拉疫情分布图，按卫生区统计累计病例，数据截至2026年10月19日至20日。CC0。 / Map: Cumulative cases of the 2026 Bundibugyo virus Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo by health zone; data as of October 19-20, 2026. CC0.
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