The launch of two experimental treatments in the Democratic Republic of Congo brings a glimmer of hope during the still-growing outbreak
3-MIN READ3-MINAssociated PressPublished: 4:52pm, 5 Jul 2026Residents at the epicentre of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC’s) Ebola outbreak are pinning their hopes on experimental treatments after researchers began a highly anticipated study in early July of two possible Ebola treatments in hopes of fighting the still-growing outbreak.
At the Ebola treatment centre inside Bunia’s Evangelical Medical Centre, in eastern Congo’s Ituri province, the launch of the research was marked by urgency rather than ceremony on Thursday.
As ambulances continued arriving and healthcare workers disappeared behind layers of protective equipment into isolation wards, the research effort unfolded quietly alongside the daily struggle to keep patients alive.
The virus causing this outbreak, called Bundibugyo, is less common than others that cause Ebola disease and there are no specific treatments or vaccines for it.
Already more than 1,400 people have been diagnosed and 438 have died, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on Thursday.
The WHO announced the same day that the first participant had been enrolled in the study, which is evaluating whether the antiviral remdesivir, the experimental antibody treatment MBP134, or a combination of both can improve survival among patients infected with the Bundibugyo virus.
