DR Congo expands Ebola vaccination to Ituri, over 3,700 people vaccinated

Ebola vaccination was expanded Saturday to Ituri Province, the epicenter of the outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with more than 3,700 people having received the Ervebo vaccine in the country.



The latest phase comes with the launch of a vaccination study known as BRAVO in Bunia, the capital of Ituri, conducted by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in collaboration with Congolese health authorities, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and other scientific partners.



The study plans to vaccinate about 20,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu, two provinces most affected by the outbreak, and follow participants over time to assess the potential effect of Ervebo against the Bundibugyo virus.



Ervebo was developed and licensed against the Zaire virus rather than the Bundibugyo virus driving the current outbreak, and whether it can protect humans against the latter has not been established.