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.

The vaccination being rolled out as of this weekend was developed for use against the Zaire strain, and the study will determine how effective it might be against the Bundibugyo strain.

“We don’t know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain,” said Steve Ahuka, a Congolese official who is part of the health task force against the Ebola outbreak.

“It might offer a certain level of cross-protection against the Bundibugyo virus,” said Nana Mimbu, an MSF research coordinator.

While WHO officials have cited “encouraging signs” that transmission may be slowing, MSF warned on Friday (September 18, 2026) that there was no clear evidence that the epidemic was coming under control.

WHO experts have said that early data on the Ervebo vaccine, notably from animal trials, suggested it could offer some protection in the current outbreak.

The UN health agency said last month that 70,000 doses of the vaccine, developed by the pharmaceutical company Merck and produced in Germany, were to be sent to the DRC.

AFP journalists on Saturday (September 19, 2026) saw health workers in Bunia, the main city of Ituri province, receiving vaccinations.

The Ebola outbreak in Congo has reached 5,000 cases, government data showed on Wednesday (August 19, 2026), as responders warn it is spreading at an unprecedented speed outpacing efforts to slow it in one of the country’s remotest regions.

Data from Congo’s Ministry of Health showed the outbreak had so far recorded 5,021 cases, including 2,378 deaths as of Sunday (August 16, 2026), as it rages in some of the most challenging conditions imaginable fuelled by insecurity, displacement and intense population movements.

The outbreak has infected and killed more people at a greater speed than any other outbreak in history.

Starting from the first detected case, it has spread about three times faster than an outbreak from 2014 to 2016 across West Africa, which was the deadliest Ebola outbreak on record with more than 11,000 deaths.

The outbreak “has spread rapidly and the risk of further national and international spread remains high,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday (August 18, 2026) at a meeting convened by the agency.

“We must be frank: the epidemic is far from being under control,” he said.

Safety concerns have limited the response as health workers are targeted, particularly in Ituri, the province that has been hit the worst by the outbreak.

Residents on Monday (August 17, 2026) attacked a health team in the territory of Aru after a suspected case was reported there. A mob set fire to an ambulance and damaged two other vehicles, according to Michael Wani, president of the Union of Cultural Associations for the Development of Ituri.

The ​World Health Organization (WHO) said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has resulted in 321 confirmed cases, along with 116 suspected cases, marking a large drop in the number of suspected cases as hundreds were ruled ‌out after investigation.

The agency said on Tuesday (June 2, 2026) there had been 48 deaths and six people have recovered in Congo. ‌The Congolese authorities first put out the new case numbers on ‌Monday (June 1, 2026).

WHO declares international emergency as Ebola outbreak kills more than 80 in DR Congo

In ⁠Uganda there have been nine confirmed cases and one associated ⁠death, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.

The WHO said on Friday (May 29, 2026) that there were 906 suspected cases of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic ​of Congo, including 223 suspected deaths ‌that were being investigated. Later Jean Kaseya, director-general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an Financial Times (FT) op-ed published on Sunday (May 31, 2026) that more than 1,100 suspected cases were being investigated.

When asked ‌why the latest figures showed a significantly lower number of ​suspected cases, Mr. Lindmeier said the data suggested hundreds of cases had been discounted. “They have been cleared out and have ⁠either other diseases or have just had fever and nothing else,” Mr.  Lindmeier said, adding that the numbers would fluctuate over time as people get ‌tested. “A suspected case includes anyone who is picked up by surveillance or who presents with symptoms at a health centre,” he added. Confirmed cases include only those who have tested positive for Ebola Bundibugyo.

Testing has been a challenge in this outbreak as initially the more common tests used for Ebola did not detect the Bundibugyo strain, for which ‌there is no approved vaccine, and capacity has been limited.

The U.S. Centers for Disease ​Control and Prevention’s website also listed 116 suspected cases, and added: “On May 29, the DRC Ministry of Health updated their ⁠total suspect case count to remove suspected cases that have been ruled ⁠out after investigation and suspected deaths that are pending the results of ongoing investigation.”

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced ‌the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak, on May 15, and the WHO swiftly declared ​it a public health emergency of international concern.