Over 4,300 confirmed cases reported

Health authorities have confirmed 4,381 Ebola cases, with 2,011 resulting in fatalities—a mortality rate of 45.9%. The outbreak originated in Ituri Province before spreading to North Kivu and other conflict-affected regions, where medical infrastructure is critically under-resourced. This crisis now ranks among the deadliest in the country’s history, approaching the grim toll of the 2018-2020 epidemic, which claimed nearly 2,300 lives.

Vaccine trials underway for the Bundibugyo strain

The current outbreak is driven by the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine exists. The World Health Organization has approved testing the Ervebo vaccine—currently the only Ebola vaccine licensed—in a Phase 3 clinical trial. Given the vaccine’s established safety profile, experts are pushing for expedited large-scale testing. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will provide doses from the global Ervebo stockpile, which holds approximately 500,000 units. The vaccine is manufactured by Merck, a leading American pharmaceutical company.

Multiple vaccine candidates in development

Additional vaccine candidates are also under evaluation for the Bundibugyo strain. Health Canada has authorized Moderna to initiate clinical trials for its experimental vaccine, while two other contenders are being developed by Hilleman Laboratories and the University of Oxford. In response to the escalating crisis, the United States has pledged an additional $242 million to bolster Ebola response efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.