Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that the worsening Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is being battled without one of the most critical tools in epidemic response: an approved vaccine.
The outbreak, which has already become the second-largest Ebola epidemic since the devastating West Africa crisis between 2014 and 2016, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of the virus, according to Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya.
Unlike previous Ebola outbreaks, there are currently no approved vaccines or antibody treatments specifically designed to combat the Bundibugyo variant.
As a result, health authorities are increasingly relying on traditional public health measures, community education campaigns, and behavioral changes to slow transmission across affected regions.
Speaking in an interview, Kaseya described the situation facing health workers as extremely difficult.
“It’s like you are a soldier,” Kaseya said.
“You go to fight without ammunition. We have to rely on public health measures.”
The latest outbreak has placed enormous pressure on fragile healthcare systems in eastern Congo, where years of conflict, displacement, and weak medical infrastructure have already complicated disease surveillance and emergency response operations.
Health officials say the outbreak is spreading faster than authorities can properly monitor.
According to recent data released by Congo’s health ministry, authorities have recorded 746 suspected cases and 176 deaths linked to the Ebola outbreak.
Officials also acknowledged that health workers managed to follow up on only around 21% of identified contacts in a single day, highlighting severe limitations in tracing possible infections.
The rapid spread of the virus has raised fears that the outbreak could expand beyond current hotspots unless emergency response efforts improve significantly.
The Bundibugyo strain is considered particularly challenging because the vaccines successfully used during previous Ebola outbreaks were designed primarily for the Zaire strain of the virus.
Kaseya said hopes that existing vaccine technologies might still offer partial protection against Bundibugyo have faded in recent weeks.
That development has left health officials dependent on isolation measures, community engagement, hygiene education, and surveillance to contain transmission.
At the same time, Africa CDC says shortages extend far beyond vaccines.
Despite millions of dollars in aid pledges from governments and humanitarian agencies, frontline medical facilities continue struggling to obtain essential supplies.
Kaseya questioned why many hospitals and treatment centers still lack basic personal protective equipment, widely known as PPE.
“Why are we still lacking PPE?” he said while criticizing delays in translating international funding promises into practical support on the ground.
Medical workers in some affected areas reportedly face shortages of treatment space, laboratory supplies, disinfectants, and infection-control materials.
In the city of Bunia near the Ugandan border, some Ebola patients are still being treated in ordinary hospital wards because dedicated treatment centers have not yet been fully established.
The absence of specialized facilities increases the risk of further transmission among healthcare workers, patients, and visitors.
The crisis has also exposed the social and cultural complexities involved in managing Ebola outbreaks in Central Africa.
Authorities are now increasingly relying on local leaders, traditional authorities, and religious networks to spread public health messaging.
Health workers are attempting to persuade communities to modify long-standing funeral and burial traditions that can accelerate the spread of Ebola.
Direct contact with infected bodies remains one of the most dangerous transmission routes for the virus.
However, changing deeply rooted cultural practices has proven extremely sensitive.
Tensions recently erupted in Ituri province after relatives of a man who died at Rwampara Hospital clashed with health workers who refused to release the body because of infection concerns.
The confrontation later escalated into violence.
Ebola treatment tents operated by aid organization Alima were reportedly set on fire during the unrest, while several patients fled amid the chaos.
Kaseya said the incident highlighted the difficult balance responders must maintain between strict infection-control measures and culturally respectful burial practices.
“This young person was a leader of a group,” Kaseya explained.
“They have their own way to celebrate their leaders when they pass on.”
To improve public trust, Africa CDC has shifted part of its communication strategy away from relying solely on doctors and government officials.
Instead, authorities are increasingly partnering with respected community figures capable of explaining public health advice in local languages and culturally familiar terms.
“When you start to use local leaders who are not medical doctors, who can speak in a more simple way, use local language, give more examples, then we can achieve something,” Kaseya said.
Health officials are encouraging families to continue funeral ceremonies while avoiding direct physical contact with bodies.
“They can still have the funerals, but differently,” he added.
Women appear to be disproportionately affected by the outbreak.
According to Kaseya, women account for more than 60% of suspected Ebola cases.
In many communities across eastern Congo, women traditionally prepare bodies for burial by washing or touching deceased relatives, which significantly increases infection risk.
“To show that you really loved your husband,” Kaseya said, “you need to touch the body.”
Public health teams are therefore focusing heavily on outreach programs targeting women and family caregivers.
Alongside behavioral challenges, the outbreak is generating enormous financial pressure for regional governments and international aid organizations.
Countries involved in response operations have requested approximately US$319 million in emergency funding for outbreak response and preparedness measures.
Africa CDC estimates that around 84% of that funding is needed specifically for Congo and Uganda, while the remaining funds would support neighboring high-risk countries including South Sudan.
Major spending priorities include infection prevention programs, water and sanitation systems, logistics operations, laboratory expansion, surveillance systems, and patient care.
Africa CDC also announced a partnership with India to deliver approximately 20 tons of emergency medical supplies by Monday.
The supplies are expected to include protective equipment, diagnostic materials, medicines, and other essential resources needed for frontline response operations.
Still, officials warn that time is running short.
“We need to act with urgency,” Kaseya said.
“We need to make sure pledges that we got today can be translated into concrete money very quickly.”
The outbreak is unfolding in one of the most unstable regions of Africa, where armed conflict, displacement, and weak infrastructure have repeatedly complicated previous Ebola responses.
Eastern Congo has experienced multiple Ebola outbreaks over the past decade, but health experts say the absence of an approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo strain significantly raises the danger this time.
Without vaccines, authorities must depend almost entirely on rapid case detection, isolation measures, safe burial practices, public cooperation, and adequate funding to contain the virus.
Health officials fear that any delays in implementing those measures could allow the outbreak to spread further across borders into neighboring countries.
The World Health Organization and regional health agencies continue monitoring the situation closely as governments race to strengthen surveillance and emergency preparedness throughout Central and East Africa.
For now, Africa CDC says containing the outbreak will depend not only on medical resources but also on whether communities trust health authorities enough to follow life-saving guidance during one of the region’s most dangerous public health emergencies in years.
