KINSHASA — The Democratic Republic of Congo has begun a Phase 2/3 clinical trial of vaccine candidates against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, with the first participant vaccinated on Friday in Bunia, the capital of the hardest-hit Ituri Province, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said in a statement reported by Nigeria's News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Source: CEPI statement via NAN / National Record, Oct 23, 2026
The trial, named Tumaini — meaning "hope" in Swahili — aims to assess the safety, immune responses and effectiveness of several vaccine candidates, particularly among people who have been in contact with confirmed Ebola patients and face a high risk of infection, IANS reported, citing Xinhua. It uses an adaptive platform design, allowing multiple candidates to be evaluated in a single study through a ring-vaccination approach targeting contacts of confirmed cases.
Source: IANS / Xinhua, Oct 23, 2026
The first vaccine entering the trial is Ervebo, which is already licensed to prevent disease caused by the Zaire Ebola virus but has not been proven effective against the Bundibugyo virus, both CEPI and IANS reported. Two additional vaccines specifically developed against the Bundibugyo virus — one by Moderna and another by the University of Oxford in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India — are expected to join the trial shortly, IANS reported.
Source: IANS / Xinhua, Oct 23, 2026
"The launch of the Tumaini trial marks a critical step towards establishing whether candidate vaccines can effectively protect people against the Bundibugyo virus," said Chikwe Ihekweazu, executive director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, according to IANS. WHO Regional Director for Africa Mohamed Janabi also welcomed the launch, saying the trial would generate crucial evidence while strengthening the response to the ongoing outbreak, IANS reported.
Source: IANS / Xinhua, Oct 23, 2026
CEPI described the current outbreak as the largest recorded Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak and the second-largest Ebola outbreak to date. The outbreak was declared in the DRC on May 15 and was designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the WHO and a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CEPI said. Starting the trial does not mean any candidate has been proven effective against Bundibugyo virus — the study is intended to generate that evidence.
Source: CEPI statement via NAN / National Record, Oct 23, 2026