The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday warned that the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has grown beyond the country’s current response capacity, calling for urgent international financial and operational support.
“The outbreak is expanding beyond the capacity of the response to manage. It is now the largest the country has ever faced,” Dr. Vasee Moorthy, acting head of WHO’s R&D Blueprint, told reporters in Geneva.
Moorthy said additional funding is urgently needed to expand treatment centres, field investigation teams, safe burial teams and community health workers, with efforts focused on areas where the virus is spreading or is likely to spread next.
As of August 1, the outbreak had resulted in 3,748 confirmed cases and 1,657 confirmed deaths, while 708 people had recovered.
Cases have been reported across 49 health zones in five provinces, with around 17,000 contacts under monitoring, more than 80% of whom are being followed daily.
Moorthy said there are no proven vaccines or treatments specifically for Bundibugyo Ebola, although early access to supportive medical care can significantly improve survival.
He added that clinical trials of experimental treatments and a potential post-exposure preventive medicine are underway in the DRC, while two Bundibugyo-specific vaccine candidates have entered Phase 1 clinical trials in the United Kingdom and Canada.