Kinshasa: The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is "growing exponentially" and risks expanding into neighboring countries unless containment efforts are enhanced, stated the UN's senior Ebola coordinator. The outbreak, already the deadliest in the nation's history, has resulted in over 2,500 deaths from more than 5,000 infections.
According to Deutsche Welle, the epidemic is spreading extensively, now impacting an area larger than France. Julien Harneis, the UN's senior Ebola coordinator, emphasized that half of the 2,500 deaths occurred in the last 20 days alone. He highlighted that the outbreak is advancing faster and more widely than the existing Ebola response.
Harneis underscored the urgent need for increased aid funding and resource delivery to remote areas to slow and eventually halt the virus's transmission. Without these measures, he warned, the epidemic could become more lethal, potentially spreading to neighboring countries.
The current epidemic is attributed to the Bundibugyo virus, a rare Ebola strain lacking an approved vaccine or treatment. Initial infections were detected earlier this year in the DRC's northeastern Ituri province, a region with ongoing armed conflicts and inadequate health infrastructure. The virus has since spread to five other provinces and neighboring Uganda. Although Congolese authorities declared an Ebola outbreak on May 15, experts believe the virus had been circulating prior to this declaration.
Officials report that it is the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record, expanding approximately three times faster than the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak, which killed around 11,000 people. Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids, causing symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and muscle pain, followed by vomiting and diarrhea. Some patients may also experience internal or external bleeding.
In response, the World Health Organization announced the immediate release of 70,000 doses of Merck's Ervebo Ebola vaccine to the DRC to help contain the epidemic. The Ervebo vaccine has only been approved for the common Zaire strain of Ebola. However, the WHO stated that early data from animal trials suggest it may offer some protection against Bundibugyo, the strain responsible for the current outbreak. The allocation includes 20,000 doses for a Phase 3 clinical trial to assess the vaccine's impact on the Bundibugyo virus and 50,000 doses designated for frontline and health workers.