The Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak has expanded to two more northeastern provinces, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, pushing confirmed cases to 1,926 and deaths to 702. Meanwhile, the University of Oxford launched the first human trial of a Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine, with a private Indian manufacturer already stockpiling hundreds of thousands of doses.
The Human Cost of Neglect
This latest Ebola outbreak, Congo's 17th, was declared on May 15. It has largely concentrated in Ituri province, with cases also reported in North Kivu and South Kivu. Four cases, including two deaths, were recorded in Tshopo, and one death in Haut-Uele as of Saturday. The National Institute of Public Health reported on July 11 that these new cases are primarily imported from Niania in Ituri, but the provinces must now be considered an epidemic zone. Tshopo's provincial capital, Kisangani, is one of Congo's largest cities. Haut-Uele shares borders with South Sudan and the Central African Republic. A senior World Health Organization official told Reuters last week that the true scale of the outbreak could be two to four times larger than official data indicate. Four out of five new Ebola cases have no known link to existing patients, suggesting widespread, uncontained transmission.
Capital Mobilizes for Future Gains
The early-stage trial, known as BD-Ebov, will evaluate the safety and immune response of the ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine in 50 healthy adults in Oxford. Vaccinations are expected to start in the coming weeks, pending regulatory approval. Scientists at Oxford's Vaccine Group and Pandemic Sciences Institute developed the vaccine using the same viral vector platform as the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot. Serum Institute of India, a private partner, manufactured and stockpiled about 620,000 doses of the vaccine candidate within two weeks. It supplied 4,000 investigational doses for the early-stage study. This rapid production by a private entity highlights the capacity for quick capital mobilization when profit is anticipated. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will initially invest up to $8.6 million for the shot's development. In May, the World Health Organization recommended prioritising ChAdOx1 BDBV vaccine, alongside a single-dose candidate known as rVSV Bundibugyo, for clinical evaluation. The partners stated their aim to ensure rapid and affordable vaccine supplies for affected countries, a promise that often rings hollow when pharmaceutical profits are at stake.
The State's Limited Response
Preparations are also underway for additional clinical studies in Uganda, subject to regulatory approval. These studies will proceed through partnerships including the Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Uganda Research Unit. If the early-stage trial succeeds, CEPI will work with Oxford and Serum Institute to support late-stage studies needed for emergency-use authorisation or full regulatory approval. Congolese health authorities began tracing people potentially exposed to Ebola in Tshopo and Haut-Uele in late June. However, these provinces were not included in the government's daily reports until now, obscuring the true extent of the crisis. The state apparatus, despite its reporting mechanisms, failed to accurately reflect the outbreak's spread for weeks, leaving communities vulnerable to the deadly disease.