A Congo Study Will Test an Ebola Vaccine Against a Species It Was Not Licensed For

Doctors Without Borders and its research center, Epicentre, launched a study in Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sept. 19 that will offer frontline health workers a vaccine licensed against a different species of Ebola virus than the one now spreading there.

The study, called BRAVO, is meant to establish whether ERVEBO protects frontline workers against Bundibugyo virus, the species behind the current outbreak. ERVEBO was developed and licensed for Zaire ebolavirus, and MSF said in its announcement that no vaccine or treatment aimed specifically at Bundibugyo is immediately available. Whether the licensed vaccine helps against this species has not been established, which is the reason for the study.

MSF said the study will follow 20,000 frontline workers in Ituri and North Kivu provinces for nine to 12 months, with three months given over to vaccination and at least six months of follow-up afterward. It was launched at the WHO-run training center for health workers in Bunia and is part of the health ministry's outbreak response, run with Africa CDC, the Congolese National Institute for Biomedical Research and other scientific partners.

"Although ERVEBO was not originally developed to protect against Bundibugyo, preliminary data suggest that it may offer some degree of protection against the virus," said Guyguy Manangama, an epidemiologist and deputy director of operations at MSF. "However, these potential benefits must be demonstrated scientifically. That is precisely the purpose of BRAVO." He added: "It is important to stress that this vaccine will not end the current outbreak."

MSF describes ERVEBO as the only Ebola vaccine available at scale and its safety record as well established. It is being offered as a stopgap while vaccines aimed at Bundibugyo are developed, and MSF said those may become available in the coming months. ERVEBO is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency and WHO.

Participation and vaccination are voluntary, MSF said, and workers are to keep using protective equipment, follow safe-care procedures and report symptoms quickly.