The World Health Organization (WHO) had previously raised alarm about the current Ebola surge, noting its “exceptional intensification” and urging a significant scale-up of the health response. Congolese authorities have reported a total of 3,874 confirmed cases, including 1,751 fatalities, since the onset of this epidemic. The nation’s most devastating previous outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, saw nearly 2,300 deaths among 3,500 recorded cases.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the WHO, has arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is scheduled to meet with Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi to discuss the ongoing crisis.
The WHO head had previously visited Ituri in the northeast, the epicenter of the current outbreak, where approximately 90% of all cases have been identified. This particular outbreak is attributed to the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. The affected regions are characterized by a fragile state presence and severely underdeveloped health infrastructure.
“Unfortunately, the epidemic continues to spread at a rate that overwhelms our response capabilities,” stated Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesperson, underscoring the critical need for increased financial aid and resources. He emphasized strengthening areas such as “treatment capacities, field investigation teams, and safe burial teams.”
Ebola, a disease transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, causes hemorrhagic fever and has claimed over 15,000 lives across Africa in the past five decades. The current outbreak has expanded across five provinces in the DRC: Ituri, Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Haut-Uélé, and Tshopo.
Canada recently granted authorization to the American pharmaceutical giant Moderna to commence clinical trials for a vaccine targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Furthermore, the vaccine identified by the WHO as “the most promising,” known as “rVSV Bundibugyo,” is also slated for development by Singapore-based Hilleman Laboratories.
Earlier, a volunteer received the initial dose of another Bundibugyo vaccine, developed by Oxford University in the United Kingdom, which employs technology similar to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Numerous initiatives are also focused on rapid testing of treatments for the Bundibugyo strain, including the antiviral medications remdesivir and obeldesivir, alongside a monoclonal antibody designated MBP134.
The DRC officially declared its 17th Ebola epidemic, impacting its vast territory of over 100 million inhabitants.