DR Congo’s Ebola outbreak has surpassed 4,000 confirmed cases, prompting expanded vaccine trials and investigations into possible virus mutations as health agencies intensify response efforts…reports Africa Daily News Desk
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s worst Ebola outbreak in nearly five decades has surpassed 4,000 confirmed cases, prompting health authorities and international agencies to intensify efforts to contain the virus, investigate possible mutations and fast-track vaccine and treatment trials.
According to the latest figures released by the Congolese health authorities, the outbreak has reached 4,053 confirmed cases, including 1,850 deaths and 793 recoveries. The disease has spread across 53 health zones in the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele and Tshopo, making it the second-largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded globally and the biggest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the virus was first identified there in 1976.
The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a strain for which there is currently no licensed vaccine or approved treatment.
Ituri Province remains the epicentre, accounting for nearly 87 per cent of all confirmed infections.
Speaking during an online media briefing on Thursday, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) Director-General Jean Kaseya warned that the actual number of infections and deaths could be significantly higher than officially reported.
He said experts would launch studies to determine whether changes in the virus, including possible mutations, could be contributing to the unprecedented scale and severity of the outbreak.
Kaseya stressed that the biggest obstacle to controlling the epidemic was not funding but inadequate community engagement.
He called for a stronger community-led response centred on earlier detection of cases, improved contact tracing, wider access to testing and treatment, timely support for frontline health workers and greater involvement of religious leaders, traditional authorities, women and youth groups.
“Community ownership must be at the heart of the response,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said after visiting Kinshasa this week.
With no approved vaccine specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain, health authorities are expanding the use of Ervebo, a vaccine licensed against the related Zaire ebolavirus, while research continues into its effectiveness against the current outbreak.
Kaseya said field observations suggested that people previously vaccinated against the Zaire strain who later contracted Bundibugyo virus disease had generally developed milder symptoms or survived the infection.
He noted that no deaths had been recorded among previously vaccinated patients, while fatalities in the current outbreak had occurred among unvaccinated individuals.
The World Health Organization is also assessing new laboratory evidence to determine whether Ervebo provides cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain.
Meanwhile, work is progressing on vaccines specifically designed to target Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
A candidate vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the Serum Institute of India entered Phase 1 clinical trials in Britain on 24 July, while a second candidate developed by Moderna is expected to begin Phase 1 testing in Canada.
WHO officials have cautioned that vaccines alone will not end the outbreak.
The agency said surveillance, rapid laboratory testing, effective case management, infection prevention, safe burial practices and sustained community engagement remain the cornerstone of efforts to contain the disease.
Health authorities continue to monitor the outbreak closely as they race to slow transmission and prevent the virus from spreading further across the country and neighbouring regions.
