THE MAN WHO DEFYED VIRUSES

“Jean-Jacques Muyembe’s work is above all a long-term endeavor at a time when no one was paying attention to this virus, which was initially responsible only for limited epidemics within the rainforest,” recalls Professor Éric Delaporte, infectious disease specialist at Montpellier University Hospital and director of TransVIHMI. For over twenty years, this international joint research unit, affiliated with the University of Montpellier, the IRD (French Research Institute for Development), and Inserm (French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), has collaborated closely with the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) in Kinshasa, headed by Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum. This scientific partnership illustrates the trust and respect earned by the man now known as…the African father of Ebola.

A VISIONARY PIONEER

Visionary, humble, and tireless, Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum embodies the scientific resilience of Africa. In 1976, he was part of the team that first identified the Ebola virus, in a context of emergency and total uncertainty. Nothing at the time predestined this young Congolese doctor to become a global figure in virology. But his intuition, rigor, and courage would leave their mark on history.

Over the decades, Professor Muyembe has established himself as a pillar of the fight against emerging infectious diseases: Ebola, Covid-19, Marburg fever… At 83, the Director General of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) remains a man of action. Always ready to travel to affected areas, he maintains close ties with the local populations, researchers, and healthcare workers, whom he considers mission partners rather than mere collaborators.

His leadership, grounded in vision and a close connection with the people, has often made all the difference in times of crisis. “Having a vision, sharing it, creating space, and guiding people toward a goal are essential components of leadership that Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe has clearly demonstrated during the various health crises in the country. This was the case when the Democratic Republic of Congo was shaken by the Covid-19 pandemic, while he was coordinating the technical secretariat of the multisectoral response committee. This enormous responsibility exposed him not only to the stress generated by a highly volatile global situation, but also to pressures from all sides,” writes Dr. Michel Muvudi.

An inspirational figure, Professor Muyembe remains the symbol of a courageous, rigorous and human-centered African science — one that, despite the challenges, continues to believe in the power of research to save lives.

AN AFRICAN SCIENCE BUILDER

“Very few African scientists have had the impact of Professor Muyembe. His rigor and humility make him a role model for an entire generation,” testifies Dr. Steve Ahuka Mundeke, a virologist at the INRB. This humility, coupled with great rigor, is one of Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum’s hallmarks. As Dr. Michel Muvudi points out, “He possesses a rare, almost disarming simplicity, alongside exemplary scientific standards. He is not one for self-promotion and remains discreet, even when honored with prestigious awards. Rather than putting himself forward, he lets others recount his journey and speak of his achievements. This attitude, confirmed by those close to him, reflects a profound humanity and genuine modesty.”

In a world where fame is often synonymous with self-promotion, Professor Muyembe chooses silence over spectacle, substance over visibility. "Being a celebrity of his caliber and wanting to keep a low profile, away from the media, reveals another dimension of his personality," Dr. Muvudi continues.

But beyond his personal journey, Professor Muyembe's legacy transcends mere accolades. He built a veritable school of thought and scientific research in Africa. Under his leadership, the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) rose to the rank of a WHO-recognized center of excellence, welcoming and training young researchers from across the continent. "I want to leave a legacy of my knowledge to fight epidemics," he confided in Goma in 2020. This statement alone encapsulates his commitment: to transmit, share, and prepare Africa to face its own health challenges.

Professor Muyembe did not just discover viruses — he built a generation of African scientists determined to continue his work.

A SYMBOL OF HOPE AND HUMANITY

For the international scientific community, Muyembe is the living memory of the fight against Ebola. Dr. Peter Piot, co-discoverer of the virus, emphasizes: “He showed that Africa can produce its own science and save lives locally.” Beyond the scientist, the man captivates with his simplicity, his faith in youth, and his conviction that science must serve humanity. With courage and determination, he proved that confronting the invisible is not only a scientific challenge, but an act of service to humanity. His journey inspires an entire generation of young African researchers today and continues to shape the history of public health on the continent.

THE DISCOVERER OF EBOLA

Yambuku, September 1976. The origins of a scientific and human struggle

In this remote village in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, life comes to a sudden halt. A sudden fever spreads panic: the inhabitants fall ill one after another, struck by mysterious symptoms – bleeding, high fever, extreme exhaustion. The distraught staff of the Catholic mission in Yambuku helplessly witness the rapid deaths of the patients. The epidemic seems to have sprung from nowhere.

Faced with this unknown scourge, health authorities dispatched a medical team to the scene. Among them was a 34-year-old Congolese doctor, Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, trained at the University of Kinshasa and Louvain. Calm, rigorous, and methodical, he quickly grasped the immense danger. No one yet knew what infectious agent was striking, nor how it was spreading. Nevertheless, he decided to go as close as possible to the source of the infection.

With only a rudimentary gown and makeshift gloves—sometimes improvised from plastic bags—as protection, Muyembe approached the sick. He went to a feverish nun and took a blood sample. This act, performed under extreme conditions, would forever change the history of African medicine. The sample, sent to the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, allowed researchers, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), to identify a new virus: a previously unknown filovirus, named Ebola after a nearby river.

THE MISSION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

At the time, the country was still called Zaire, under the regime of President Mobutu. A graduate of Lovanium University in 1969 and the University of Louvain in 1973, Muyembe was one of the few African virologists of his generation. Sent on a mission to Yambuku, he discovered a dramatic situation: “Even the Belgian nuns at the mission were affected,” he recalls. “Neither antimalarials nor antibiotics had any effect on these patients, who almost all died.”

The authorities suspected typhoid fever. Muyembe, however, had his doubts. He undertook blood tests on several patients: “My fingers were often covered in blood,” he recounted later with disarming composure. “Fortunately, I had the reflex to wash my hands with soap. Without that, I probably wouldn’t be here to tell the tale.” When several Belgian nuns and nurses, transferred to Kinshasa, succumbed in turn, the alert became global. The samples sent to Belgium finally revealed the truth: a completely new type of virus, highly contagious and lethal.

A TURNING POINT FOR SCIENCE AND FOR AFRICA

The discovery of Ebola marks a crucial milestone in the history of modern medicine. And behind this name, which has become sadly famous, lies the courage and perseverance of one man: Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum.

Nearly half a century later, the whole world recognizes his decisive role. Not only as co-discoverer of the Ebola virus, but also as a pioneer of convalescent plasma therapy, an innovative approach that paved the way for modern treatments against the disease.

Humble, discreet, and far removed from any media heroism, he sums up his philosophy thus: “We didn’t know what we were dealing with, but we had to act quickly.” Even today, he continues his scientific and humanitarian work, training young African researchers and coordinating the response to epidemics. What Yambuku revealed to the world in 1976 was not just a virus, but also the birth of a model of African scientific courage—that of a man who, through his commitment, transformed fear into hope.

INITIAL CONTROL MEASURES

In 1976, two distinct strains of the virus were identified: Ebola Zaire and Ebola Sudan, which had appeared a few months earlier in the country of the same name. Together, they claimed 318 victims, including 280 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 88%—one of the highest ever recorded. While these initial outbreaks subsided amid widespread shock, another scourge began to take hold on the African continent: AIDS.

Faced with this new threat and the rise of emerging infectious diseases, Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, also holder of the chair of microbiology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kinshasa, nurtures a bold dream: to create an African center for biomedical research capable of responding to epidemics with the same scientific rigor as major international institutes, like the Pasteur Institute.

His ambition became a reality in 1984 with the founding of the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The institution was inaugurated with great fanfare by French President François Mitterrand and Congolese Prime Minister Léon Kengo wa Dondo. “The Congolese were able to develop this center into a true benchmark. Today, other institutes of this type exist in Africa, but at the time, the INRB was a pioneer, an independent national center of international standing,” recalls Éric Delaporte, then a young researcher involved in the fight against HIV in Gabon.

THE RETURN OF THE VIRUS: KIKWIT, 1995

After nineteen years of silence, the specter of Ebola resurfaced in April 1995 in Kikwit, a city of 400,000 inhabitants located approximately 500 kilometers south of Kinshasa. Professor Muyembe was appointed national coordinator of the response. Under his leadership, the Congolese team established a more precise virological profile of the virus and highlighted the factors aggravating its spread: overcrowding in hospitals, the lack of protection for healthcare workers, and traditional funeral rites, which facilitated the transmission of the virus.

A pioneer in his vision, Muyembe introduced several innovative preventative measures, including the now-famous contactless greeting, nicknamed the "Ebola handshake," designed to limit transmission. This gesture, which became a symbol of caution, would inspire certain health policies decades later during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

It was also in Kikwit that he first attempted an experimental therapeutic approach: serotherapy, which involved transfusing blood from survivors to patients in the acute phase of the disease. Of the eight patients treated, seven survived—a world first in the fight against Ebola. Thanks to the rigorous coordination of the medical teams, the epidemic was eventually contained after infecting 317 people and causing 250 deaths. A fragile but decisive victory that would confirm Dr. Muyembe's central role in the global history of virology and African public health.

THE RETURN OF EBOLA

Between 2000 and 2020, numerous Ebola outbreaks continued to occur in Africa, primarily in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, and South Sudan. While most were quickly contained through lockdowns and epidemiological surveillance, the epidemic that began in Guinea in 2013 marked a turning point. The virus rapidly spread to several West African countries, including Liberia and Sierra Leone, and a few isolated cases were reported in Europe and the United States, demonstrating Ebola's global potential for transmission. This two-year epidemic resulted in between 15,000 and 20,000 deaths, devastating already fragile healthcare systems and triggering a major humanitarian crisis.

Unlike the promising results of the 1995 trial in Kikwit, blood transfusions from survivors showed no significant efficacy this time. Researchers observed that the variability of viral strains and the critical condition of the patients complicated the effectiveness of serotherapy. This relative failure prompted the scientific community to explore more targeted solutions, including monoclonal antibodies and the development of specific vaccines.

Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, a key figure in the fight against Ebola, is not giving up. With the support of an American team and international partners, he is focusing his research on monoclonal antibodies isolated from the blood of survivors. These antibodies allow for a specific attack on the virus, paving the way for more effective and better-controlled curative treatments.

In 2018, as the DRC was struck by two new Ebola outbreaks, the security and humanitarian context complicated the response: conflict zones, massive population displacements, and limited access to healthcare. Despite these constraints, scientific advances made from Kikwit and across West Africa enabled a more coordinated and effective response. The molecule developed by Muyembe, named Ebanga, was validated as the first curative treatment for Ebola in Zaire, significantly reducing patient mortality. Simultaneously, his involvement in the development of a working vaccine represented a major step forward for the prevention and control of future epidemics.

Collaboration with TransVIHMI and other international laboratories also enabled the rapid identification of the viral strain responsible for the epidemic. This identification is crucial: it allows for accurate diagnosis, case monitoring through contact tracing, and the adaptation of treatment protocols according to the virulence of the strain. New molecular biology techniques, such as rapid genetic sequencing, have revolutionized epidemiological surveillance and improved the ability of teams to contain the spread of the virus, even in challenging environments.

Thus, the experience accumulated since Kikwit, combined with scientific innovations and international cooperation, is transforming the fight against Ebola: from a strictly reactive management, it is gradually becoming proactive and targeted, offering new perspectives to control one of the most formidable diseases of the 21st century.

EBANGA: A CONGOLESE SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH APPROVED BY THE FDA

The fight against Ebola hemorrhagic fever has taken a major step forward with the official approval of the Ebanga treatment by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Designed and developed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this drug represents the first single-injection therapeutic solution recognized for its effectiveness against this highly lethal disease. The result of research by Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, a Congolese virologist and pioneer in the discovery of the Ebola virus, Ebanga symbolizes an African scientific victory. Developed from humanized monoclonal antibodies, it neutralizes the virus by blocking its ability to infect human cells, thus interrupting the spread of the disease within the body.

Clinical trials conducted between 2018 and 2020 in the DRC under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and the National Ebola Response Program demonstrated a reduction in the mortality rate of approximately 40% and remarkable clinical tolerability, including in children. These results led the FDA to officially recognize the safety and efficacy of the drug.

The approval of Ebanga places the DRC at the heart of global pharmaceutical research and paves the way for greater access to treatment, under the supervision of the World Health Organization (WHO). It also recognizes the scientific maturity of the African continent and its potential for innovation in the face of major health challenges. “This is a major step forward for African science. Ebanga proves that local research can save lives on a global scale,” emphasizes Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum.

A DISCREET HERO

Upon his return from Yambuku, Jean-Jacques Muyembe didn't hold a press conference or publish a sensational paper. He simply resumed his work in the modest laboratories of the University of Kinshasa. Yet, he had just marked a decisive page in world medical history. The Ebola virus, which Western scientists had just identified thanks to his samples, would soon become synonymous with horror. But for Muyembe, this discovery wasn't a personal victory: it was a warning. "That day, I understood that Africa had to prepare itself to defend itself against its own epidemics," he would later confide.

For years, Muyembe's name rarely appeared in international publications. The official story attributes the discovery of the virus to European laboratories. But in African scientific circles, people know. They know that he was the first to confront the epidemic, that he risked his life to collect that sample.

HE DOESN'T DEMAND ANYTHING. NOT EVEN RECOGNITION.

“It wasn’t the time to talk about glory,” he often said. “We had to save lives.” In the years that followed, he remained in the field, traveling the country to understand how these viruses emerge, are transmitted, and spread. He conducted pioneering epidemiological studies, collected data, and trained local teams. His obsession: to do science in Africa, for Africa. When new Ebola outbreaks appeared in the 1990s and 2000s, Muyembe was called back to the front lines each time. His experience became a benchmark. He advised governments, collaborated with the WHO, the US CDC, and the Pasteur Institutes. But always with the same discretion.

His humanity is striking to all who meet him. In the field, he talks to patients, reassures caregivers, and takes the time to explain protocols. For him, science only has meaning if it serves people. "Muyembe is wisdom and courage incarnate," summarizes Dr. Steve Ahuka Mundeke, one of his former students and now head of department at the INRB.

It would take several decades for the international community to fully recognize his role. In 2019, during a new Ebola outbreak in the east of the country, he was appointed coordinator of the national response. His name became familiar again, this time associated with victory. The man once considered discreet became the symbol of a continent capable of producing its own solutions. A discreet hero, yes. But a very real hero, whose quiet courage saved thousands of lives and paved the way for an entire generation of African researchers.

THE ARCHITECT OF CONGOLESE SCIENCE

Since the 1980s, Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum has undertaken a quiet but monumental task: building Congolese science. A visionary, he understood very early on that research could not depend eternally on foreign laboratories. Local infrastructure, national experts, and African scientific independence were essential.

It is this conviction that drives him to transform a simple microbiology department into a truly world-class research center. Under his leadership, the National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) has become, over the years, the scientific heart of the DRC. From a few cramped rooms at its inception, the institution has gradually acquired high-security laboratories, cutting-edge equipment, and multidisciplinary research teams capable of tackling all major infectious threats: Ebola, Marburg, cholera, measles, malaria, and even Covid-19. "I want to leave a legacy of my knowledge to fight epidemics," he likes to say.

And these traces are now visible. Under his leadership, the INRB has become a reference center recognized by the WHO. It trains dozens of Congolese virologists, epidemiologists, and biologists, many of whom now work in international institutions. This network of researchers, united by his teaching, constitutes the new generation of African biomedical research. His approach is clear and profoundly pan-African: "Science must be done in Africa, by Africans, for Africans," he insists.

Thanks to this vision, the DRC has significantly strengthened its capacity to respond to health crises. Now, it no longer takes weeks to send samples abroad: viruses can be identified in a matter of hours on-site, in Kinshasa. A logistical and scientific revolution.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, in March 2020, it was again the INRB that identified the first case detected on the African continent. A strong signal: the DRC, long perceived as vulnerable to epidemics, was becoming a credible and responsive scientific player.

Beyond the laboratories, Muyembe also built a philosophy. For him, research was not just a matter of microscopes, but of solidarity, ethics, and knowledge transfer. He mentored, advised, and guided young researchers with demanding kindness. Many describe him as a builder of knowledge, a man who preferred to educate rather than seek the limelight.

In short, Jean-Jacques Muyembe has become the architect of Congolese science. Not through honors, but through the foundations he leaves: those of an Africa that observes, understands, and acts for itself.

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