WHO Declares Emergency as Rare Bundibugyo Ebola Spreads in DRC and Uganda

Overview

• On May 17 the World Health Organization declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in response to the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak that began in northeastern DRC.
• By late May 24–25 more than 100 cases had been confirmed and hundreds more were under investigation across the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, with at least five imported cases identified in Uganda.
• Field tests initially missed the virus because many rapid assays were calibrated for the Zaire strain, and genomic sequencing in Kinshasa was needed to confirm the rare Bundibugyo variant.
• Response teams face severe obstacles because armed attacks have damaged treatment sites, several suspected patients fled after a tent was burned, and three Red Cross/Red Crescent volunteers have died while caring for bodies.
• Researchers are accelerating vaccine and therapeutic work, including Oxford’s candidate using the ChAdOx platform, but candidates still require animal and human trials and are months away from possible clinical testing or use.