An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has led to the deaths of 2,011 people out of 4,381 confirmed cases, Congolese officials reported on Tuesday. The outbreak, which has affected conflict-ridden eastern and northeastern regions of the DRC, was declared on May 15, although the virus is believed to have been spreading for several weeks prior.
According to the latest data, the current outbreak is approaching the scale of the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the DRC in 2018–2020, which killed nearly 2,300 people out of approximately 3,500 registered cases. According to Sania Nishtar, executive director of the global vaccine alliance Gavi, the current outbreak is the 17th outbreak of this highly contagious disease in the DRC and is already considered the largest in the country’s history, and “could very well become the largest outbreak in history.” The fatality rate of the current outbreak is estimated at 45.9% by Congolese health authorities.
Challenges in combating the outbreak
Humanitarian organization workers state that the spread of the virus continues to outpace response measures being deployed in the five affected eastern provinces. Many medical workers have gone on strike to protest the non-payment of their salaries since the start of the outbreak.
Search for an effective vaccine
On Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) experts recommended conducting a full-scale human trial of the only approved Ebola vaccine. The goal is to determine if it can provide cross-protection against the virus strain currently spreading in the DRC, for which there is no specific vaccine available.
The Ervebo vaccine has proven its safety and effectiveness against the more common Zaire strain of the Ebola virus. WHO experts stated that early data, including results from animal trials, suggest that the vaccine may also provide some protection against the rare Bundibugyo strain, which is rapidly spreading in the DRC. Two potential vaccines against Bundibugyo are in the early stages of human clinical trials, while a third is being developed for this stage.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, stated at a press conference that officials are “chasing the virus, but the virus is ahead of us.” Ebola is transmitted through contact with bodily fluids and causes hemorrhagic fever. The Ebola virus was first identified in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now the DRC.
Source: Euronews
