The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended two additional Ebola vaccine candidates for clinical evaluation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as research into potential treatments advances.

In a statement on Wednesday, the organisation said the vaccines, specifically developed against the Bundibugyo virus, would be tested for the first time during an outbreak of the disease.

“The two candidates are ChAdOx1, developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, and Moderna’s mRNA-1469,” it said.

It said its independent Technical Advisory Group on Candidate Vaccine Prioritisation recommended the vaccines based on available preclinical and early clinical evidence, adding that their inclusion awaited national approvals.

WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, described the development as evidence of scientific collaboration, expressing appreciation to researchers, health workers, partners and participants involved in the clinical trials.

He said participants’ contributions would generate important evidence that could help save lives, adding that vaccines alone would not end the outbreak but could strengthen control efforts.

“The Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, DRC’s national public health and biomedical research institute, is leading the vaccine trial with support from WHO, the University of Antwerp and other international partners,” he said.

“Other collaborators include Epicentre, Médecins Sans Frontières, the Institute of Tropical Medicine of Antwerp and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.”

According to him, the rapid development of the vaccine candidates was supported by investments from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

He said the Tumaini trial is designed to evaluate multiple vaccine candidates through a ring-vaccination approach involving contacts of people confirmed to have Bundibugyo virus disease.

“The approach builds on a strategy used during the West African Ebola outbreak, when a landmark trial in Guinea established the effectiveness of Ervebo vaccine against Zaire ebolavirus,” he said.

“Ervebo is also the first vaccine being evaluated in the Tumaini trial to determine its effectiveness against Bundibugyo virus.”

The WHO boss said four vaccination rings had already been established, while preparations were underway for additional rings involving contacts of people who had fallen ill or died from Ebola.

Mr Ghebreyesus said research into potential treatments was also progressing through the WHO-sponsored PARTNERS trial, inaugurated in July to evaluate treatments for patients with confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease.

“The trial is assessing whether monoclonal antibody MBP134, antiviral drug remdesivir or a combination of both could improve survival among infected patients,” he said.

The WHO boss said another treatment, maftivimab, would soon be added to the trial, while a complementary study investigating obeldevisir for post-exposure prevention was ongoing.

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He said the organisation was supporting outbreak research through its Research and Development Blueprint and Health Emergencies Programme, providing technical advice, research protocols and operational support.

He said the support also included coordinating research partners and ensuring that studies conducted during the outbreak met rigorous scientific and ethical standards.

“Initial findings from the treatment trials are expected in the coming months, while results from the vaccine trial are anticipated in early 2027,” he said.

(NAN)

According to the BBC, the British man tested positive for the virus while in the DRC. Reuters subsequently reported that he would be medically evacuated to the UK for specialist treatment. However, the exact time of the evacuation was not immediately known.

This marks the first confirmed case of a British national contracting the virus during the ongoing outbreak in the DRC, which has claimed more than 5,000 lives.

Ebola is a viral disease that can cause severe illness and spreads mainly through direct contact with the blood or other bodily fluids of an infected person.

Symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, muscle pain, weakness, and diarrhoea.

“The UK has well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this, and those processes have been activated,” a UK government spokesperson was quoted as saying.

“Further information will be shared in due course as appropriate. The risk to the UK public from Ebola remains low.”

Ebola outbreak

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, a species of Ebola virus, and was first declared in DRC in May 2026.

According to the latest figures from the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the outbreak had recorded 10,563 confirmed cases and 5,130 deaths across five countries as of 1 November 2026.

The DRC accounts for the majority of the cases, with 10,532 confirmed cases and 5,126 deaths. The outbreak has affected eight provinces in the country.

Kenya has recorded nine confirmed cases and two deaths, while Uganda has recorded 20 confirmed cases and two deaths, alongside one probable case and one probable death.

Nigeria confirmed its first case on 20 October after a traveller with a history of travel to Uganda tested positive for the virus. The patient was subsequently medically evacuated to Switzerland for treatment.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), 62 contacts linked to the Nigerian case had been identified and were under follow-up as of 29 October.

Symptoms and transmission

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has explained that Ebola survivors may transmit the virus through sexual intercourse if it persists in their semen after recovery.

However, survivors who have met the criteria for discharge from treatment are not expected to transmit the virus through sweat or saliva, as the virus is cleared from their blood.