WHO picks vaccine and treatment candidates for Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak

The World Health Organization’s expert groups have identified the most promising vaccine and therapeutic candidates for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Selected vaccines include the single‑dose rVSV‑Bundibugyo and the ChAdOx1‑Bundibugyo platform, while priority treatments are monoclonal antibodies, the antiviral remdesivir, the investigational product MBP134, and maftivimab, which is used against Zaire‑type Ebola.

The candidates will be moved into prioritized clinical testing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, where the outbreak began in May in the Ituri province and has since spread to neighboring areas and Uganda. To date more than 1,077 suspected infections have been reported and 246 deaths recorded, with 11 countries now listed as at‑risk. WHO, together with the health authorities of the DRC and Uganda and partners such as the African CDC, is preparing tightly controlled trials under strict ethical guidelines, aiming to have a viable vaccine available by the end of 2026. No vaccine or specific treatment for this Ebola variant is currently approved; experimental products must be used only within study protocols.