New Ebola Treatment Trial Ongoing In Eastern Congo As Death Toll Climbs

Researchers in eastern Congo began a closely watched clinical trial of two potential Ebola treatments on July 2, 2026, as health officials work to contain an outbreak that has killed hundreds of people in recent months. The World Health Organization confirmed the first participant had been enrolled that same day.

The trial is taking place at the Ebola treatment center inside the Evangelical Medical Center in Bunia, a city in Congo's eastern Ituri province. Ambulances continued arriving at the facility as the study launched, with healthcare workers moving in and out of isolation wards in full protective equipment.

The outbreak is being driven by the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola virus, which is less common than other strains and currently has no specific approved treatment or vaccine. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on July 2 that more than 1,400 people have been diagnosed and 438 have died so far.

Researchers are evaluating whether the antiviral drug remdesivir, the experimental antibody treatment MBP134, or a combination of the two can improve patient survival. All enrolled patients will receive standard supportive care and will be randomly assigned to also receive one of the drugs, both, or neither, according to WHO research adviser Dr. Vasee Moorthy.

Survival will be tracked for 28 days after each patient begins treatment. Moorthy said it could take months, and possibly as many as 1,000 participants, before researchers can determine whether either drug works, though a clear result could come sooner if one treatment proves highly effective.

Standard supportive care alone has already helped more than 200 people recover during the outbreak, but health officials say better treatment options are urgently needed. Tedros described the trial as offering real hope of delivering results for the communities most affected.

The study is currently being offered only at the single treatment center in Ituri province, an area that has faced significant violence, including attacks targeting healthcare workers responding to the outbreak. Officials said they plan to expand the trial to additional locations once conditions allow.

Enough of each drug for the trial has been donated by the pharmaceutical company Gilead and the United States, according to reporting on the study. The research is supported by a partnership that includes Congo's national biomedical research institute INRB, Britain's Oxford University, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, and other international health organizations.

Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of infected patients, making containment especially difficult in areas where healthcare access is limited and security conditions are unstable. The Ituri outbreak has tested both the region's health infrastructure and the safety of workers trying to respond to it.

Researchers say the trial's design allows them to compare outcomes across treatment groups while ensuring every participant still receives the current standard of care, a structure intended to generate reliable evidence without denying patients existing treatment options.