Inside the study for a remedy to fight Congo's deadliest Ebola outbreak

RWAMPARA, Congo (AP) — More than 250 participants have been enrolled in a trial for a drug that could stop them from contracting Ebola in Congo, in what experts have described as a critical step to try to fight the deadliest outbreak of the disease in the Central African country.

The drug is targeted at Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for the fast-moving outbreak and is without an approved vaccine or treatment. The trial began in July and is one of several studies launched to find some protection and another way of at least slowing the outbreak.

The Associated Press spoke this week to participants and doctors at the health center where the trial is taking place in the eastern province of Ituri, the epicenter of the outbreak. The participants include people who have been exposed to the disease in this outbreak, among them health workers and patients’ relatives.

At least 8,300 confirmed cases, including 4,000 deaths, have been recorded since this Ebola outbreak was declared in mid-May in eastern Congo. It has spread to seven provinces and continues to outpace efforts to track and slow it, authorities say.

The trial is testing Gilead's experimental antiviral pill, called obeldesivir, which is given soon after suspected contact with the virus to prevent the disease from developing. That approach is called post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP.

One participant in the trial known as EBO-PEP told AP that she enrolled in the study in August after her husband tested positive for Ebola. She says so far no one from her family developed symptoms.

She and other trial participants requested anonymity to protect their privacy due to the sensitive nature of the Ebola outbreak and the medical protocol involved.

Ebola disease only spreads once symptoms begin. People exposed to infected patients have to wait to see if they get sick. Finding people at high risk of incubating the Bundibugyo virus — also known as contact tracing — has proved difficult in Congo.

Another participant said two of their family members had caught Ebola, and one of them had died. “This disease is killing. It’s better to take precautions,” he said.

The trial, coordinated by ALIMA, a medical nonprofit, aims to recruit nearly 1,000 adults or children over the age of 12 who have come into contact with a confirmed case within the last five days but have no symptoms. Half will get a placebo.

Participants are monitored in person every day for 21 days, with a final phone call after 42 days, according to Dr. Godefroid Basara, who is working on the trial.

ALIMA said that if trial participants begin to develop symptoms, they will immediately receive supportive treatment, which has been shown to be helpful when symptoms are caught early.

If the pill proves effective, it could help break the infection chain.

“It differs from a vaccine, which may take days or weeks to provide protection. It is also different from curative treatment because it is intended for people who are not yet showing symptoms,” ALIMA research coordinator Dr. Guilavogui Jean Paul Yassa said.

Dr. Jacques Zawadi, an investigating physician working with ALIMA at the trial center, said most participants are happy to take part in the study, but it had been challenging encouraging some people who live far from the center to sign up.

He said the study is sometimes disrupted when participants find out their family members have died from the disease.

“This is the biggest challenge we face. When a person is emotionally affected, it is not easy to reason with them and ensure they return to the study,” he said.

The trial partners also include Congo’s National Institute of Biomedical Research and the French institute ANRS Emerging Infectious Diseases.

As new vaccines are under development elsewhere, Congo started vaccinating health workers with the Ervebo vaccine which was effective during previous Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common virus. Authorities have said Ervebo could offer some protection against Bundibugyo, but whether the vaccine can actually prevent illness is still being studied.

On Thursday, humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders said a staff member had tested positive for Ebola and was being evacuated to the Netherlands. In June, a humanitarian physician with ALIMA also tested positive after returning to France from one of the virus hot spots.

The World Health Organization has said the outbreak continues to outpace efforts to track and slow the spread, and is set to exceed West Africa’s regional outbreak between 2014 and 2016 — the deadliest on record — which killed 11,000 people.

Brennan reported from Dakar, Senegal. Lauran Neergaard contributed from Washington, D.C.

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Pills are provided to enrolled patients during clinical trials attempting to stop the rare Bundibugyo virus, amidst a deadly Ebola outbreak, in Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)

Doctors label the sample collected from an enrolled patient and record it in the hospital's files during clinical trials attempting to stop the rare Bundibugyo virus, amidst a deadly Ebola outbreak, in Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)

An enrolled patient receives information during clinical trials attempting to stop the rare Bundibugyo virus, amidst a deadly Ebola outbreak, in Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)

An enrolled patient arrives to clinical trials attempting to stop the rare Bundibugyo virus, amidst a deadly Ebola outbreak, in Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)

A doctor collects an enrolled patient's blood for Ebola testing during clinical trials attempting to stop the rare Bundibugyo virus, amidst a deadly Ebola outbreak, in Rwampara Hospital in Ituri, Congo, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dieudonne Dirole)

CAIRO (AP) — The co-pilot accused of attacking the captain on an Israel-bound flight with an axe and trying to seize the controls was an Omani national who’d been barred from flying on his country’s airline because of concerns about extremist views, officials said Saturday.

The co-pilot has been identified as Hamam al-Hammami, according to three people with knowledge of the situation, including a Gulf and Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The United Arab Emirates, which is leading the investigation, said the co-pilot attacked with the cockpit’s crash axe and tried to take control of the sharply plummeting plane in a “terrorist attack" Wednesday. His actions nearly crashed the flight with 182 people on board before passengers and others rushed in and subdued him.

The new details raised questions about how the co-pilot was on the flight. Israel’s government has said it has agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots of nations without diplomatic ties from flying there. Israel and Oman don’t have formal diplomatic relations.

Separately, a regional official and a person familiar with the matter said the co-pilot had been barred from flying by Oman over concerns he had adopted extremist views. The official said he was moved to an administrative job at Oman Air. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.

The co-pilot was later hired by UAE-based airline FlyDubai, the person said. It was not immediately clear to what extent the co-pilot was vetted.

The regional official said the co-pilot was born in the UAE and his mother is Syrian. How he obtained Omani nationality was not immediately clear.

The official also said security agencies from four regional countries were working to establish the co-pilot’s motives, aided by the United States and other Western governments.

The Gulf diplomat said investigations were trying to establish whether the co-pilot acted alone or "has any connection with any extremist groups.”

A FlyDubai spokesperson said in an email that the airline could not comment beyond its official statements and acknowledged “there are many questions at this stage.” There was no immediate comment from Oman Air, and Oman’s government has said nothing publicly in response to repeated questions since the incident.

The incident is a test for the UAE government, which has earned a reputation for effective measures against extremist activities but has also bristled in the past over criticism of security lapses.

Airlines are generally required to carry crash axes in the cockpit that could be used in an emergency to break open a window to escape or break open a panel to access a fire. The axes are generally stored in the cockpits where the crew can reach them, but they aren’t accessible to passengers.

Little else was immediately known about the co-pilot’s background. His Instagram account was active until the day of the flight and then deleted.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said the co-pilot had undergone “Islamist radicalization,” but provided no evidence. There was no immediate comment Saturday from Israel's government.

The captain, who was badly wounded, has said he used his remaining energy while being attacked to unlock the cockpit door, allowing people who had noticed alarmingly unusual sounds to come in, tackle the co-pilot and stabilize the flight.

The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a descent so extreme that part of the rudder was torn away, and aviation experts have marveled that it didn't crash.

Both the captain and co-pilot were later taken to the UAE. The passengers, most of them Israeli, flew home later Wednesday on a separate plane, to cheers.

Mednick reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP Washington bureau chief Anna Johnson in Washington and aviation writer Josh Funk contributed.

Israeli passenger Yaniv Hayoun, with blood stains on his shirt, who was aboard a Flydubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, is welcomed at the arrivals gate at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)

Passengers who experienced an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, during a flight on FlyDubai plane, arrive at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

This screengrab from Narendra Modi YouTube Channel shows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking with FlyDubai pilot Capt. Smit Machchhar on Friday, Oct. 2, 2026. (Narendra Modi YouTube Channel via AP )

An FlyDubai plane carrying Israeli passengers who had earlier been aboard another FlyDubai aircraft that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia approaches Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)