Ring vaccination trial against Bundibugyo Ebola begins in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

28 October 2026

A vaccine trial named TUMAINI has begun in the eastern Congolese city of Bunia against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus, using a ring vaccination approach that immunises the contacts of confirmed cases. Four people were vaccinated at the launch, two rings are in place and results are expected in several months. The trial is led by Congolese authorities and managed by the National Public Health and Biomedical Research Institute. The first vaccine being tested is Ervebo, which has been effective against the Zaire strain of Ebola; whether it protects against Bundibugyo is not yet known. Technical advisory groups of the World Health Organization are evaluating two Bundibugyo-specific candidates, ChAdOx1 from the University of Oxford with the Serum Institute of India and mRNA-1469 from Moderna. The Democratic Republic of the Congo declared the outbreak on 15 May and its caseload is approaching 10,000. Kenya, which confirmed its first case on 6 October, has reported nine confirmed cases and two deaths in one connected group, with no evidence of community spread; 20 contacts were discharged after a 21-day monitoring period and 98 remain in quarantine.