Congo Expands Ebola Vaccinations Into Outbreak Epicenter as Confirmed Deaths Reach 3,639

Since the Democratic Republic of Congo declared this Ebola outbreak in May, confirmed cases have climbed to 7,541 and deaths to 3,639 as of Saturday, September 19, according to the country's National Institute of Public Health and reporting from the Associated Press. That is a case fatality rate of 48.3%, with 1,823 patients recovered. It is now the deadliest Ebola outbreak in Congo's history and the second-largest ever recorded worldwide, trailing only the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people.

On Saturday, Congo expanded its Ervebo vaccination effort into Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, targeting the Bunia and Mongbwalu health zones, according to the Associated Press. The military governor of Ituri, Maj. Gen. Gaby Kasongo Mulumba, said frontline workers were being prioritized because they are "particularly exposed and deeply involved in the response."

The expansion into Ituri is tied to a specific research effort called BRAVO, launched Saturday in Bunia and run by Médecins Sans Frontières with Congolese health authorities and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Xinhua. The study plans to vaccinate roughly 20,000 frontline workers across Ituri and North Kivu and track them over nine to twelve months to assess whether Ervebo offers any protection against this outbreak's virus.

Ervebo is licensed against the Zaire strain of Ebola, the more common one behind past outbreaks. This outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, which has no licensed vaccine or treatment. Xinhua reported plainly that "whether it can protect humans against the latter has not been established." The Associated Press coverage carried by PBS, ABC News, U.S. News & World Report and other outlets described Saturday's rollout in more straightforward terms as a vaccination drive, without foregrounding that the shot's effectiveness against this specific virus remains unproven and is the subject of an active study.

Ervebo use in this outbreak actually began August 27 under a protocol-governed program, according to Xinhua, citing the latest DRC government epidemiological update. As of September 17, 3,771 people had been vaccinated, 3,063 of them in Tshopo province and 708 in Bas-Uele. The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision approved an initial allocation of 70,000 doses in August, 50,000 for frontline workers and 20,000 reserved for a Phase 3 clinical trial. Africa CDC said only 16,520 of those doses had actually arrived in Congo as of mid-September. A separate Phase 3 trial using a randomized ring-vaccination strategy is also planned, according to Xinhua.

One frontline doctor, Jeannot Elua, told the AP in Bunia the shot was "beneficial" and that health workers "don't really have a choice" because vaccination is mandatory for them. Another, Jean Paul Uzele, who was vaccinated during a previous Ebola outbreak, said he was uncertain whether a second dose was even necessary. Neither raised concerns about the vaccine's unproven status against this strain, but their comments underscore that frontline staff are receiving a shot under a research protocol, not a fully validated preventive.

A 23-year-old man died of Ebola in the town of Gwaka in Sud-Ubangi province, making it the seventh province to report cases and the first in western Congo, according to Breitbart. Congolese lawmaker Jean-Jacques Mbungani said the man had traveled by boat and road for three weeks, through Rwanda, Uganda, Ituri, Tshopo and Mongala before falling ill and dying in Sud-Ubangi, which borders the Central African Republic. Acting governor Jean-Rene Galekwa Vundawe said 38 contacts have been quarantined. The World Health Organization has warned the outbreak could spread further into the Central African Republic and Sudan.

Africa CDC said cases have declined in Ituri, the original epicenter, but new infections in North Kivu have more than doubled over three weeks, including in two health zones with no prior cases. The WHO's latest update, cited by Breitbart, described "ongoing geographical expansion and sustained increase in cases in some health zones" and blamed "delayed detection" amid a "complex humanitarian setting characterized by insecurity, armed conflict, and widespread population displacement."

The Epoch Times' September 3 coverage separately noted that Uganda was declared Ebola-free on July 28 after a smaller, unrelated outbreak that caused 20 cases and 2 deaths, marking 42 days since that country's last patient was discharged. That development involved a different national outbreak and is not connected to the Bundibugyo virus spreading through Congo.

The WHO has said the Congo outbreak remains out of control and is on pace to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic as the worst in history. With roughly 60% of fatalities occurring outside treatment facilities, according to WHO estimates cited by the Epoch Times, the BRAVO study and expanded vaccine rollout will need to outrun a virus still finding new provinces to reach.