DRC Launches Ebola Vaccine Trial Against Bundibugyo Strain

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched a clinical study in Bunia to determine whether the Ervebo vaccine, licensed against the Zaire strain of Ebola, can protect against the Bundibugyo strain driving the country’s deadliest outbreak. The BRAVO study will monitor about 20,000 health and other frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu for nine to 12 months, while additional doses are used to vaccinate high-risk responders. The effort is being conducted by DRC health authorities with WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières, Epicentre, Africa CDC and other partners. The Bundibugyo strain has no licensed vaccine or specific treatment, although preliminary animal data suggest Ervebo may provide some cross-protection. The outbreak has produced 7,541 confirmed cases and 3,639 deaths, and officials warn that transmission remains uncontrolled despite some indications of slowing.