The World Health Organization has warned it could take up to nine months before a vaccine against the deadly Bundibugyo strain of Ebola — currently devastating parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo — becomes available, as the death toll from the outbreak continues to climb sharply.
In its latest update, the WHO said there are now at least 600 suspected cases of the virus and 139 suspected deaths across affected areas, with the numbers expected to rise further given the time taken to detect the outbreak. The first known case was a nurse in Ituri province who died on 24 April after developing symptoms, with her body repatriated to Mongwalu — one of two gold-mining towns now at the epicentre of the crisis.
A Race Against Time in Active Conflict Zones
Of the confirmed cases, 51 have been laboratory-confirmed in DR Congo’s eastern Ituri and North Kivu provinces, while two cases have crossed into neighbouring Uganda, with one of those patients succumbing to the disease in the capital Kampala. Healthcare workers are among those who have died, raising alarm about the vulnerability of front-line medical staff operating without adequate protective equipment.
Dr Vasee Moorthy, a WHO advisor, told journalists in Geneva that two candidate vaccines against the Bundibugyo species are under development — but neither has yet gone through clinical trials. “We assess it is likely to take six to nine months before a promising candidate vaccine is ready,” he said. One potential vaccine is based on the same platform as the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, but researchers caution there is currently no animal data to support its effectiveness.
Eastern DR Congo has been ravaged by years of armed conflict, with multiple militia groups — including the notorious ADF and M23 rebels — controlling territory near the outbreak zones. This has severely hampered the deployment of medical teams and the delivery of essential supplies. Trish Newport, emergency programme manager at Medecins Sans Frontieres, described the situation inside health facilities as critical. “We are full of suspect cases. We don’t have any space,” she told AFP, describing what she called a “crazy” working environment with overwhelmed staff and insufficient isolation capacity.
The Unusual Threat of the Bundibugyo Strain
DR Congo is no stranger to Ebola — this is its 17th outbreak — but the current strain is the rare Bundibugyo species, which has not been seen in the country for more than a decade. Bundibugyo first emerged in Uganda in 2007 and reappeared in DR Congo in 2012, killing roughly a third of those infected in both outbreaks. Unlike the more commonly known Zaire strain — for which effective vaccines exist — Bundibugyo has no approved vaccine and no targeted treatments, making it considerably more challenging to contain.
Araali Bagamba, a lecturer living in Bunia, Ituri’s provincial capital, told the BBC that ordinary people are acutely aware of the danger. “For the last three days I haven’t shaken anyone’s hand,” she said, noting that handshaking — normally a cultural staple — has been abandoned across the city. “People believe it will get worse before it gets better,” she added, partly because early symptoms of Ebola closely resemble malaria and typhoid, leading to delayed recognition.
On Sunday, the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern but stressed the situation had not yet reached pandemic level. The UN health body said the risk was “high” at national and regional levels and “low” globally. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly stated the WHO had been “a little late” in identifying the outbreak — a criticism WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus rejected, saying the comments may stem from a misunderstanding of the complexity of responding in an active conflict zone.
Uganda on High Alert as Cross-Border Spread Confirmed
Uganda’s health ministry has confirmed two cases in Kampala — both among individuals who had recently travelled from DR Congo. One of those patients has died, and contact tracing efforts are under way. The fact that cases have appeared in Uganda’s capital rather than in remote border areas is a source of particular concern for regional health authorities.
While the Zaire strain vaccine — used successfully in past DRC outbreaks — may offer some cross-protection, scientists say it cannot be relied upon as a specific solution for Bundibugyo. With no therapeutic drugs available for this strain, medics are limited to supportive care — intravenous fluids, oxygen and treatment of secondary infections — all of which are in short supply in the conflict-hit regions.
International aid agencies are calling for urgent funding to scale up laboratory testing capacity, establish secure isolation units and deploy community health workers who can safely disseminate prevention information in areas where mistrust of authorities runs high.
For now, the response is being slowed by the very conditions that make eastern DR Congo so vulnerable: active armed conflict, weak infrastructure, limited laboratory access and a population that has endured decades of humanitarian crises. As one local health worker told reporters from Mongwalu: “We are trying to fight a fire while the building is already burning around us.”