Ebola treatment trial begins in Congo
What's the story
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that a trial of potential treatments for the Bundibugyo virus strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has begun. The first patient has been enrolled in this clinical trial, which is being coordinated by researchers from the Institut National de Recherche Biomedicale in the DRC, Belgium's Institute of Tropical Medicine, and the UK's University of Oxford. It is sponsored by the WHO.
Outbreak details
Situation in Uganda and DRC
The current Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda started in May and has been declared a public health emergency by the WHO. As of June 30, there were 1,406 confirmed cases and 438 deaths in the DRC alone. In Uganda, there have been 20 confirmed cases with two deaths. The disease is caused by a virus that attacks the body's immune systems and organs.
Therapeutic potential
Safe and effective therapeutics needed: Tedros
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of having safe and effective therapeutics in the fight against Ebola. He said, "Even without approved therapeutics, people are recovering from this disease, but of course, we could save many more lives with safe and effective therapeutics in our toolkit." The trial is testing two potential treatments for the Bundibugyo virus strain, which currently has no approved vaccines or treatments.
Virus spread
More about Ebola virus disease
The Ebola virus usually infects animals, particularly fruit bats, but can be transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals. People become contagious only after developing symptoms, which appear within two to 21 days of infection. Symptoms start suddenly and resemble flu or malaria with fever, headache, and tiredness. Vaccines need to be developed for each species of Ebola; however, only three of the six species are known to cause outbreaks.