Although the Ebola outbreak in Congo continues to spread, there are also initial medical advances: The genome of the currently rampant Bundibugyo Ebola virus has been sequenced and now reveals more about the origin of the outbreak. At the same time, the search for an antiviral antidote has gained momentum. Using artificial intelligence, US researchers have already identified 18 drug candidates that could also be effective against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus.
The number of people suffering from Ebola and dying in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Uganda has continued to rise. On May 26, 2026, authorities in Congo reported 906 suspected cases of Ebola and 105 confirmed cases. More than 230 people have already died from Ebola fever. The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Uganda has risen to seven.
The current Ebola epidemic is triggered by the rare Bundibugyo Ebola virus, in which around 40 percent of cases are fatal. Unlike the more common Zaire Ebola virus, there is currently no vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus. Sick people can only be treated supportively; there is currently no effective antidote.
A small molecule against Ebola
Jonathan Bohmann from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Texas and his team are currently looking for an antiviral that also works against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus. “As global health organizations respond to the recent Ebola outbreak, we are supporting biomedical research with the rapid development of antiviral agents,” says Bohmann. Together with the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, his team has been researching an active ingredient against Ebola since 2016.
One of the candidates, a small molecule called M7, has already been shown in tests to be a potent inhibitor against the Zaire ebola virus, but could also be effective against the Bundibugyo ebola virus, as the team explains. M7 is not an antiviral agent that directly attacks the virus and its functions, but rather a so-called host-directed antidote – an active ingredient that blocks cell functions in the host that are essential for infection or virus replication.
Typically, such host-targeting agents are less specific and can therefore be effective against different virus variants. However, M7 is not suitable for large-scale production because this molecule is too unstable, as the researchers explain.
18 potential drug candidates
That’s why Bohmann’s team has now turned to artificial intelligence: Using special AI software, they looked for molecules that have a similar effect to M7 and dock to the same cell receptors, but are more stable and therefore easier to produce on a large scale. “Our AI tools help us to quickly identify drug candidates that not only work under the conditions of the biosafety laboratory, but also in the human body,” explains the researcher.
In fact, the scientists found what they were looking for: Through their AI search, they have already found more than 20 molecules related to M7 that are more stable – and that could be effective against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus that is currently rampant in the Congo. Using additional software, Bohmann and his team have already identified the precursor substances required for the rapid synthesis of 18 of these drug candidates.
In the next step, these 18 molecules will be tested in cell cultures for their effectiveness against the Bundibugyo Ebola virus. “Now that we have identified several such potentially effective compounds, we can test them against the current virus and get results quickly,” says virologist Olena Shtanko from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.
What the genome of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus reveals
In parallel with the search for antiviral agents, researchers have sequenced the DNA of the type of virus currently rampant in the Congo. This is important because the viral genome can reveal how this outbreak began and how it is related to the only two known previous outbreaks of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus. These occurred in Uganda in 2007 and in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2012.
The DNA analyzes revealed: “The genomes of the current virus type are similar to, but different from, those of previous outbreaks,” explains virologist David Matthews from the University of Bristol. “This suggests that this is a new spillover event of the Bundibugyo Ebola virus.” Accordingly, the current Ebola epidemic began with a new transmission of the Ebola virus from an animal to a human.
A spillover event as a trigger
The genome comparison of various current virus samples also provided initial information about the course of the current Ebola outbreak. “Genome sequencing helps determine whether an outbreak was triggered by a single spillover event and then spread further through human-to-human transmission, or whether there were multiple independent transmissions from animals to humans,” explains Matthews.
According to new genomic data, the current Ebola outbreak appears to have been caused by a unique species jump in the Bundibugyo Ebola virus. “This is good because it makes it easier to trace and contain the outbreak,” said Matthews. “If there are repeated transmissions from animals to humans, this makes controlling the epidemic more complicated.”
Source: Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Southwest Research Institute, Science Media Center UK