Doctors Without Borders launches Ebola vaccination study in DR Congo

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Saturday it launched an Ebola vaccination study in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which faces the largest Ebola disease outbreak in its history, following frontline workers to assess whether an existing vaccine can offer protection against the Bundibugyo virus.

Last month, Congo launched a vaccination campaign against Ebola virus targeting health and frontline workers.

The government has been allocated 70,000 Ervebo vaccines from the global Ebola virus disease vaccine stockpile for a Phase 3 clinical trial.

In a statement, the French medical charity said the study targets 20,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu provinces, a group at particularly high risk of exposure to the virus and essential to the outbreak response.

Launched at the World Health Organization-run training centre for health workers in Ituri provincial capital Bunia, the study will run for a period of nine to 12 months. It will involve three months dedicated to vaccination and a minimum of six months of participant follow-up.

"The study will generate real-world data on the use of the ERVEBO vaccine and its potential effectiveness in the current outbreak context," MSF said.

To date, no vaccine or specific treatment has been approved against the Bundibugyo virus.

Ervebo vaccine is licensed and recommended for use in outbreaks of Ebola virus disease, previously called Zaire ebolavirus.

"Although ERVEBO was not originally developed to protect against Bundibugyo, preliminary data suggest that it may offer some degree of protection against the virus," said Guyguy Manangama, epidemiologist and deputy director of operations at MSF.

"In a race against time such as the one the DRC is currently facing, we must use every tool available to us."

Confirmed infections in the current Ebola outbreak have reached 7,541 cases, including 3,639 related deaths, the latest Health Ministry situation update showed.

The latest epidemic has affected 62 health zones across seven provinces: Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Bas-Uele, Tshopo and South-Ubangi.

MSF said the race to contain the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo is far from over.

While some indicators such as declining patient admissions and slower transmission may suggest the outbreak is easing, MSF teams are observing a worrying trend with cases are emerging and spreading into new, underprepared areas. Basic response measures, according to the health organization, are still not in place in the original hotspots, making containment efforts increasingly challenging.