Ebola drug trial enrolls 250 in Congo as deadliest-ever outbreak kills 4,000 and burns treatment centre

From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026 · last updated 4 October 2026.

Congo's Ebola crisis has reached a grim milestone of 4,000 deaths from at least 8,300 confirmed cases since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, with the Bundibugyo strain spreading across seven provinces faster than authorities can contain it. Gilead's experimental antiviral pill obeldesivir is now being tested in Ituri province on people recently exposed to the virus, in a trial experts call a critical breakthrough. The disease has no approved vaccine or treatment, making the search for any protection urgent.

A treatment centre was burned down amid the chaos, exposing how badly the outbreak has overwhelmed local infrastructure.

The trial tests Gilead's obeldesivir pill given after suspected exposure, aiming to stop the disease taking hold before symptoms develop.

One participant enrolled after her husband tested positive, saying: 'I could have been contaminated' — so far none of her family has shown symptoms.