DRC Expands Ervebo Vaccinations to Ebola Epicenter Bunia as MSF Launches 20,000-Person BRAVO Effectiveness Study

The Democratic Republic of Congo began vaccinating health and frontline workers against Ebola in Bunia and Mongbwalu, Ituri province — the epicenter of the outbreak — on Saturday, 19 September 2026, extending a compassionate-use Ervebo (rVSV-ZEBOV) campaign that had previously covered 14 health zones across three provinces starting with Kisangani, Tshopo, last month. Congolese task force official Maj. Gen. Gaby Kasongo Mulumba said 'our collective duty is to protect life. Launching this vaccination drive for front-line staff in Ituri is not an arbitrary choice, as these workers are particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response,' while health worker Dr. Jeannot Elua said 'we healthcare workers don't really have a choice: we are going to receive it.' Congolese health task force official Steve Ahuka cautioned 'we don't know to what degree it might be effective against the Bundibugyo strain,' since Ervebo was developed against the more common Zaire ebolavirus. The same day, MSF and its epidemiological research arm Epicentre launched BRAVO (Bundibugyo, Répondre Avec la Vaccination), a study evaluating Ervebo's real-world effectiveness against Bundibugyo virus, run jointly with DRC's Ministry of Health, Africa CDC and the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB). BRAVO will follow up to 20,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu over nine to 12 months — three months of vaccination followed by at least six months of monitoring. MSF epidemiologist Dr. Guyguy Manangama said 'even partial protection could help reduce severe illness and deaths. That is precisely the purpose of BRAVO.' The developments came as a DRC Ministry of Health/Ministry of Communication situation report covering the period through 17 September put the national toll at 7,541 confirmed cases, 3,639 deaths (a crude case fatality rate of roughly 48.3%) and 1,823 cumulative recoveries, with 930 patients hospitalized in isolation and 87.2% of identified contacts under active follow-up. Of the 70,000 Ervebo doses WHO and Africa CDC approved for release to DRC, roughly 50,000 are earmarked for frontline and health workers under compassionate use and 20,000 for the separate Phase 3 clinical trial testing cross-protection against Bundibugyo virus.