EBOLA OUTBREAK IN DR CONGO ON TRACK TO BECOME DEADLIEST ON RECORD

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading faster than health authorities can contain it and is on track to become the deadliest recorded, according to the World Health Organisation. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Wednesday that the outbreak, at its current pace, would eclipse the 2014-2016 West African outbreak, which killed more than 11,000 people. The current outbreak, formally declared on 15 May, has recorded more than 4,300 cases and caused more than 2,000 deaths. The disease is spreading rapidly: genetic sequencing revealed the virus began circulating in February, at least three months before the official declaration.

The outbreak is caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which no approved vaccine or recognised therapeutic drugs currently exist. Regional instability in eastern DR Congo, near borders with South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda, has severely hampered containment efforts. Health workers are reaching only about 30% of cases, according to WHO Africa director Dr Mohamed Janabi. Additional obstacles include weak infrastructure, under-resourced clinics, circulating misinformation, and strikes by health workers over unpaid wages. WHO projections suggest the outbreak could peak within six months under a moderate scenario, or stretch for nine to 12 months under a more severe one.

The UK medicines regulator, the MHRA, has authorised the first human trials of a vaccine for Bundibugyo developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, using technology from the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. WHO officials stated that improved access to affected communities is essential to prevent the current outbreak from surpassing the 2014-2016 death toll of more than 11,000 people.