Who chief visits drc as ebola outbreak intensifies

The World Health Organization (WHO) had previously warned on Saturday about this particular outbreak, noting its “exceptional intensification,” and urged a significant escalation of the health response. Congolese authorities have reported a total of 3,874 confirmed cases and 1,751 deaths since the epidemic began. For context, the country’s deadliest previous outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, claimed nearly 2,300 lives from 3,500 recorded cases.

The Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on Tuesday. He was scheduled to hold discussions on Wednesday with Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, as confirmed by a WHO representative in Kinshasa.

This visit follows his trip in late May to Ituri (northeast), which remains the epicenter of the current epidemic, accounting for almost 90% of reported cases. This ongoing surge is attributed to the Bundibugyo variant, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment. The outbreak is particularly challenging as it affects regions where state presence is fragile and health infrastructure is severely lacking.

“The epidemic regrettably continues to spread at a pace that exceeds our response capabilities,” stated Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO spokesperson, during a press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday. He called for “additional financial support” and resources to strengthen various aspects of the response, including “treatment capacities, field investigation teams, and safe burial teams.”

Ebola, a virus transmitted through contact with bodily fluids, causes hemorrhagic fever and has been responsible for over 15,000 deaths across Africa in the past five decades. The current epidemic has spread across five provinces of the DRC over the last two months: Ituri, Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu, Haut-Uélé, and Tshopo.

Significant developments in vaccine research emerged on Tuesday when Canada authorized the American pharmaceutical giant Moderna to commence clinical trials for a vaccine specifically targeting the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Furthermore, Hilleman Laboratories, based in Singapore, is poised to develop the “rVSV Bundibugyo” vaccine, which the WHO has identified as “the most promising.”

In late July, the first volunteer received an initial dose of another Bundibugyo vaccine developed by Oxford University (United Kingdom), utilizing technology similar to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Several other initiatives are also underway to rapidly test treatments against the Bundibugyo strain, including the antiviral medications remdesivir and obeldesivir, along with a monoclonal antibody designated MBP134.

The DRC officially declared its 17th Ebola epidemic on May 15, after a delay of several weeks, impacting its vast territory with a population exceeding 100 million.