WHO approves trials for two new Ebola vaccines amid deadly outbreak in DR Congo

The World Health Organization has approved clinical trials for two additional Ebola vaccine candidates as health workers try to contain an outbreak in Africa that has killed more than 5,300 people. The new trials are being added to an existing study that began last month using the Ervebo vaccine, which is approved for Ebola virus but not for the Bundibugyo virus driving the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said expert groups recommended the new candidates after reviewing the situation.

The two vaccines are ChAdOx1 BDBV, developed by the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna's mRNA-1469. According to the WHO chief, both were developed specifically for the Bundibugyo virus. He said the DRC's National Institute for Biomedical Research is leading the trial, with support from partners including WHO.

He also stressed that vaccines are not a substitute for early care, contact tracing, isolation, safe and dignified burials and trusted engagement with communities. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that the wider Ebola epidemic has caused more than 5,300 deaths and 10,444 confirmed cases, with a fatality rate of more than 50%. The vast majority of deaths have been recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the outbreak has placed heavy pressure on health services.

The scale of the emergency helps explain why officials are trying to expand the vaccine response while continuing standard containment measures. The latest development matters because the outbreak is being driven by a strain for which there are no approved treatments or vaccines specifically designed for it, according to the information cited. That leaves public health teams dependent on a combination of surveillance, isolation and community cooperation while researchers test whether the new candidates can help.

The addition of more vaccine options also reflects the difficulty of responding to a fast-moving epidemic in a country that has faced repeated Ebola emergencies. The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in mid-May, and authorities have described it as the country's largest on record. Earlier reporting also showed the virus had crossed borders, with cases and deaths recorded in Uganda and Kenya, underlining the regional risk.

That wider spread has made the outbreak a concern beyond the DRC, even as the main burden remains there. What remains unclear is how quickly the new trials can begin and whether they will change the course of the outbreak in the short term. It is also not yet clear how many people will be enrolled or how fast additional doses can be made available if the candidates prove useful.

For now, the main test is whether vaccination, tracing and isolation can be scaled quickly enough to slow transmission before the epidemic grows further.

The latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has now killed 5,376 people, according to data cited by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The figures show that 5,372 deaths were recorded in the DRC, with two deaths each in Uganda and Kenya. The outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain, which has also spread across borders in recent months.

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The Africa CDC data said the outbreak has infected about 10,444 people across the DRC, Uganda and Kenya, with a fatality rate of more than 50 percent. The DRC declared its 17th Ebola outbreak in mid-May, and health authorities have described it as the country's largest on record. Uganda recorded 20 cases, almost all linked to travel from the DRC, before being declared Ebola-free in August.

Kenya reported nine infections and two deaths in October, marking the first recorded Ebola cases in the country. In Nigeria, two suspected cases in the northeast tested negative after two rounds of testing, while authorities there had earlier reported an imported case in October, the first in more than a decade. A single case involving a health worker returning from the DRC was also reported in France in July, underlining the wider reach of the outbreak.

The scale of the outbreak matters because Ebola control depends on rapid case detection, contact tracing and sustained public health support. The current strain is especially difficult to manage because there are no approved treatments or vaccines specifically for the Bundibugyo strain, according to the information cited. Clinical trials have recently begun with the Ervebo vaccine, which has been effective against the more common Zaire strain, but its role in this outbreak remains limited by the strain involved.

The DRC has faced repeated Ebola emergencies over the years, and the current outbreak is now being described as one of the most severe on record. That history is important because repeated outbreaks can weaken surveillance systems and stretch already limited health resources. Cross-border spread also raises the risk of renewed transmission in neighbouring countries even after local cases appear to have been contained.

What remains unclear is how quickly the outbreak can be brought under control and whether the recent cross-border cases will lead to further transmission. It is also not clear from the available information how much additional international support is being mobilised beyond the response already under way. The main issue now is whether health teams can keep tracing contacts, isolating cases and limiting further spread before the outbreak expands again.

Mary Robinson has called on G20 countries to release the full €3 billion pledged to help contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She said the virus is spreading at an unprecedented pace and warned that the situation could become serious beyond the region if it continues to advance. The appeal comes as the outbreak is described as the second largest in history.

According to the figures cited, the outbreak has caused 5,000 deaths in less than six months and more than 10,000 cases have been reported. Robinson said the response needs urgent resources, especially for contact tracing, which she described as a critical part of containment. She argued that the crisis is not receiving enough attention and said Europe does not care enough about the lives of people who are invisible to it.

The scale of the outbreak makes the funding gap significant because Ebola control depends heavily on rapid case detection, tracing of contacts and sustained public health support. With transmission continuing at speed, delays in releasing pledged money can affect the ability of health teams to isolate cases and limit further spread. Robinson's warning also underlines the wider risk that a major outbreak in central Africa can pose if containment efforts weaken.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has faced repeated Ebola emergencies over the years, and the current outbreak is now being described as one of the most severe on record. That history matters because repeated outbreaks can strain already limited health systems and make it harder to maintain surveillance and response capacity. The latest figures suggest the present emergency is moving quickly enough to raise concern well beyond the country's borders.

Robinson's comments place pressure on wealthy governments to turn pledges into immediate support rather than waiting for later commitments. Her intervention also highlights the gap between international promises and the practical needs of outbreak response on the ground. In a fast-moving epidemic, the timing of funding can be as important as the amount promised.

What remains unclear is how quickly the pledged money will be released and whether additional international support will follow. It is also not clear from the available information how far the outbreak has spread geographically within the country. The key issue now is whether the resources needed for tracing, containment and treatment arrive soon enough to slow the virus.

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