Ebola outbreak set to be ‘deadliest ever’ as no-vaccine virus kills 2,000 victims
Ashanom Ghebreyesus – director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) – has warned the outbreak is “already the second-biggest Ebola epidemic on record”
The recent Ebola outbreak is set to be one the deadliest ever recorded(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Health experts have warned the recent outbreak of a rare strand of Ebola is set to become the deadliest ever as more than 2,000 people have lost their lives.
Since the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was declared in May, more than 4,500 cases have been confirmed, and over 2,060 of these cases have been fatal.
This is the country’s 17th outbreak. However, none of the previous ones have been caused by the rare Bundibugyo strand, which currently has no approved vaccine.
In a news conference in Geneva, Tedros Ashanom Ghebreyesus – director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO) – said “It’s already the second-biggest Ebola epidemic on record, and it’s moving faster than any previous Ebola outbreak. At its current pace, it’s on track to eclipse the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014-2016.”
The strand has a shocking 45% fatality rate(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The Democratic Republic of Congo has reported 68 new confirmed cases and 50 deaths since the previous daily report, while Uganda also has confirmed 20 cases and 2 deaths.
The dangerous strand has a fatality rate of 45%. Due to the severity of the virus, the WHO are focussing on transmission control by applying a community lead approach which involves early detection, access to health-care, support for healthcare workers and providing sufficient resources.
Ebola is transmitted through the blood or bodily fluids. Initially, the symptoms of Ebola were misdiagnosed.
Fevers, headaches, tiredness, vomiting and diarrhoea were determined as flu or malaria symptoms. The miscalculation allowed the Ebola outbreak to spread rapidly, making it significantly more difficult to contain.
The director of the World Health Organisation African Region, Mohamed Janab said: “ We are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us.”
Alongside focusing on transmission control, the WHO are also partaking in a study called ‘R & D blueprint programme’. This will see known contacts of cases randomised to receive Ervebo – a single-dose vaccine designed to protect against the disease – or a placebo. They also plan to add more vaccines to the trial as they become available.
Experts are scrambling to find a vaccine(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
A separate jab is being created by Oxford scientists, using the same technology applied to make the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Three other groups are also developing different vaccines for Bundibugyo. However they have not entered clinical trials yet.
The first vaccine to be pushed into the field for study will be Merck’s Ervebo, a vaccine which targets a different species of the virus. New data from a study based on humans suggests it could offer some cross protection to the population.
Another Bundibugyo-specific vaccine is being developed by the non-profit group IAVI. It uses the same basis as Ervebo, but it will be months until more vaccine doses are available for use in a Phase three trial.
