WHO Warns Ebola Crisis Is Spiraling Fast
The Ebola outbreak in central Africa is experiencing rapid spread, according to the World Health Organization, which complicates efforts to contain a rare strain of the virus for which there are currently no approved treatments or vaccines available. The agency has elevated its risk assessment to “very high” in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there are currently nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 fatalities attributed to the disease. The outbreak in Congo currently impacts three provinces, with the initial case reported in South Kivu, according to a statement from the country’s health ministry on social media. Two cases, including one fatality, were confirmed in neighbouring Uganda following travel from the DRC. The outbreak is attributed to the uncommon Bundibugyo strain. There is no specific vaccine available, and the mortality rate can reach as high as 50%. It seems to have spread throughout eastern Congo’s Ituri province, a mining area affected by conflict, for approximately two months before officials acknowledged the situation they were confronting.
The outbreak is “especially challenging,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus informed on Friday, referencing the ongoing conflict, the displacement of individuals, and the fluctuating population of miners. “There exists a considerable level of scepticism towards external authorities within the local populace.” Tedros this month took the unprecedented step of declaring a global public health emergency prior to convening the WHO’s emergency committee, owing to the rapidity and magnitude of the outbreak. Governments globally are enhancing border screening and quarantine measures as health authorities strive to manage the outbreak effectively. An India-Africa summit scheduled to commence in New Delhi at the end of May has been postponed indefinitely. Uganda has effectively sealed its border with the DRC, halting flights to and from the nation and suspending all public transport, with the exception of vehicles transporting goods and food. It also halted weekly bazaars in high-risk regions where communities frequently traverse the porous border for trade and essential shopping.
In the DRC, contract-tracing has expanded to 1,400 individuals, according to Anne Ancia. Case numbers are anticipated to increase, she noted, indicating that the outbreak response is becoming more entrenched. “We are running behind; we are not yet under control,” she stated. Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Director General Jean Kaseya stated in an interview that pledged funding is not reaching the front-line health workers. “Where is this money?” he enquired, referencing a deficiency in personal protective equipment, medications, and treatment facilities. “Why is this money not in the field?” The agency is considering the initiation of clinical trials for prospective treatments as a component of the response. Advisers to the World Health Organization have placed emphasis on two antibody therapies developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. The WHO is also contemplating trials for two antivirals produced by Gilead Sciences Inc., obeldesivir and remdesivir, as post-exposure treatment for high-risk contacts. The timing is contingent upon the actions of governments in the affected nations.
A technical advisory group from the WHO convened on Tuesday to deliberate on the prioritisation of potential vaccines. During a protracted outbreak of Ebola in West Africa a decade ago, two vaccines were developed: one by Merck & Co. and the other by Johnson & Johnson. However, both were engineered to inhibit the more prevalent and lethal Zaire strain of the virus. The agency is currently assessing potential vaccine candidates; however, a comprehensive prioritisation has yet to be finalised, according to Sylvie Briand. Merck’s Ervebo vaccine, designed for the Zaire strain, has not been endorsed as a primary option owing to “very little evidence” of its ability to confer cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain, she stated. Briand mentioned that a more promising candidate is a rVSV vaccine akin to the Ervebo shot, tailored for the Bundibugyo strain. Currently, no doses are available for clinical trials, and preparing supplies could take six to nine months if prioritised. Bundibugyo virus emerged in Uganda in 2007 when health officials spent five months trying to decipher why patients with Ebola-like symptoms tested negative for known strains.
