Congo vaccinates the first volunteer in its 'Tumaini' Ebola trial
Led by Congo's INRB, the trial in Bunia will test several vaccines against the Bundibugyo strain, for which no approved vaccine yet exists.
Lire cet article en français →
Bunia — The first participant in "Tumaini" — Swahili for "hope" — was vaccinated on Friday, 23 October, in Bunia, north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The phase 2/3 trial will test vaccines against the Bundibugyo virus, the Ebola strain behind the current outbreak, Actualite.cd and Africanews report.
Why it matters
No vaccine is approved specifically against Bundibugyo. The outbreak, declared on 15 May 2026, had caused 9,552 cases and 4,602 confirmed deaths by 21 October, according to the trial's sponsors.
How it works
- An adaptive platform: several candidate vaccines can be tested at once under one protocol.
- Ring vaccination: contacts and people exposed around each case are offered the vaccine.
- Ervebo, already licensed against the Zaire strain, is the first vaccine in the trial. Candidates from Moderna and from the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India, funded by CEPI, are to join soon.
African-led
The study is co-led by Congo's National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) with the Global Health Institute of the University of Antwerp, under the Congolese health ministry, with vaccines chosen independently by a WHO technical group. Prof Steve Ahuka-Mundeke, who leads the response in the field, said the priority is to stop transmission and save lives.
Sources: Actualite.cd, Africanews, 23-24 October 2026.
