Ebola treatments trial begins in DR Congo

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that trials of potential treatments for the virus strains behind the current deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo have begun.

The first patient has been registered in the Democratic Republic of Congo, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.

More than 1,400 cases and 438 deaths have been confirmed in the country, according to the World Health Organization.

There is currently no approved vaccine or treatment against the highly contagious Bundibugyo virus strain of the disease.

The current trial is sponsored by the World Health Organization and coordinated by scientists at the National Research Institute in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium and the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Patients will be tested on two antiviral drugs.

Speaking to reporters from WHO headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, Tedros said: “Even without approved treatments, people are recovering from this disease, but of course we can save many more lives with safe and effective treatments in our toolkit.”

Dr Samuel Roger Kamba, Minister of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said the launch “represents a significant step forward, offering renewed hope to patients, their families and affected communities”.

The current Ebola outbreak in DR Congo began in May, but transmission remained undetected for some time.

Stating that there were 1,460 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo as of July 1, with 150 suspected cases and 452 deaths, WHO declared the situation a public health emergency. According to the World Health Organization, 213 people have recovered.

There are also 20 confirmed cases in Uganda, leading to two deaths, and one confirmed case in France as of July 1.

Ebola is caused by a virus Attacks the body’s immune system and organs.

It normally infects animals, especially fruit bats, but outbreaks among humans can sometimes begin when people come into contact with infected animals. It is spread through body fluids such as blood.

Congolese health officials said the outbreak is currently limited to three eastern provinces – South Kivu, North Kivu and Ituri.

However, Reuters and AFP news agencies report that a pregnant woman in the neighboring Tshopo province tested positive for Ebola. The woman was reported to have died in Ituri before her body was transported by motorcycle to Kisangani, the main town of Tshopo, which has a population of about 1.5 million.

Additionally, a person suspected of having Ebola reportedly escaped from an isolation unit in Ituri and later tested positive in nearby Haut-Uele province.

Authorities are said to have initiated contact tracing efforts in Tshopo and Haut-Uele. Earlier this week, public gatherings were banned in both provinces, along with neighboring Bas-Uele and the capital Kinshsasa, in an effort to prevent the spread of Ebola.

Ebola patients usually become contagious after symptoms appear, and it takes 2 to 21 days for symptoms to appear.

They appear suddenly and start like flu or malaria, with fever, headache and fatigue.

The health ministry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo said diagnosis had been improved in the affected area. Previously, Ebola testing was carried out in four laboratories, but this number has now increased to 10.

According to both the Africa CDC and US public health authorities, the current outbreak has the potential to be one of the largest ever because it was spreading for weeks before it was confirmed to be Ebola.

International organizations also warn that conflicts in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo are making the fight against the epidemic difficult. The M23 rebel group controls large parts of both North and South Kivu.

Vaccines need to be developed for each strain of Ebola, of which there are six but only three are known to cause epidemics.