Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo surpasses 4,000 cases with fears of virus mutation

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surpassed 4,000 confirmed cases and 1,850 deaths. Driven by the rare Bundibugyo strain, this epidemic is the fastest-spreading on record. Health officials fear the virus may be mutating due to its unprecedented severity, prompting the Africa CDC to scale up response efforts to active door-to-door case searches. To combat the spread, the WHO has recommended clinical trials to test if the licensed Ervebo vaccine can offer cross-protection.

Bundibugyo strain mutation concerns

• ▪The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, which has shown an unprecedented level of severity.
• ▪The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization plan to conduct studies to investigate whether the Ebola virus causing the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is mutating.

Fastest-spreading outbreak on record

• ▪A study published in the journal Science concluded that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo likely started in January, identifying over 500 suspected cases before the official declaration on May 15.
• ▪The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second-largest on record and has been described as the fastest-spreading in history.

Ervebo vaccine cross-protection trial

• ▪World Health Organization vaccine experts recommended a full-scale human trial of the Ervebo vaccine to determine if it offers cross-protection against the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.
• ▪The Gavi global vaccine alliance announced it will make doses from its stockpile of 500,000 Ervebo vaccine doses available for clinical trials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Geographic spread across five provinces

• ▪Ituri province is the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accounting for 87 percent of all reported cases.
• ▪The Ebola outbreak has spread across five provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo.

Outbreak containment challenges

• ▪Efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are hindered by ongoing military conflict, delayed detection, and a lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the Bundibugyo strain.
• ▪The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention announced plans to shift containment strategies from contact tracing to active, door-to-door case searches in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.