Video Duration 01 minutes 42 seconds01:42
DR Congo Ebola outbreak: Health workers vaccinated as virus spreads
Published On 28 Aug 2026
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun vaccinating people against Ebola, with health workers and other front-line workers being prioritised
However, the vaccine being distributed this week is licensed for another strain, and its effectiveness against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola has not been determined
Recommended Stories
list of 3 items
- list 1 of 3Congo launches Ebola vaccination drive to tackle deadly outbreak
- list 2 of 3Nearly one in two Ebola patients dying in DR Congo outbreak
- list 3 of 3World Health Organization says Ebola outbreak in Uganda is over
end of list
There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment for the new strain, and clinical trials are ongoing to find a suitable vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain
The first injections are being given to health workers in the Congolese city of Kisangani
More than 50,000 doses of the vaccine have been received, according to the Congolese health minister, Samuel Roger Kamba
The outbreak is concentrated in the Ituri province, which borders Uganda
Kamba said: “We will cover all the provinces that are around Ituri, moving in the ring towards the centre of the outbreak.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine had been approved for use in the DRC
About 20,000 of the doses allocated to the DRC will be used in a clinical trial to test its effectiveness against the latest strain. Health workers are calling for more doses
As of Tuesday, the DRC had recorded 5,713 confirmed cases of Ebola, including 2,744 deaths, according to government figures. The outbreak is the deadliest of all past Ebola outbreaks that have hit the DRC
The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fuelled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements
Advertisement
The WHO has said it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
