World Health Organization officials are preparing a clinical trial of two experimental Ebola treatments for the Bundibugyo virus strain as the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda accelerates without any licensed vaccine or approved therapy.
Scientists told Scientific American that regulatory submissions for the trial were being drafted for authorities in both countries. Unlike Zaire ebolavirus, the Bundibugyo species has no authorized medical countermeasures, though early supportive care remains critical.
WHO declared the epidemic a public health emergency of international concern on May 17 after laboratory confirmation in Ituri Province. Past Bundibugyo outbreaks recorded case fatality rates between 30 and 50 percent. Researchers said therapeutic candidates must be tested under outbreak conditions where health systems are already strained.
International teams are deploying rapid response units, treatment centers and laboratory capacity while coordinating cross-border surveillance. Health agencies emphasized that experimental drugs would be offered within ethical frameworks governing emergency research during active epidemics.
The Institut national de recherche biomédicale in Kinshasa confirmed Bundibugyo virus disease from blood samples on May 15, marking Congo’s 17th recorded Ebola outbreak. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus consulted affected states before issuing the emergency declaration. Uganda’s Ministry of Health reported an imported case in Kampala linked to travel from Ituri Province shortly before the species was identified.
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Sources:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-race-to-develop-ebola-drugs-as-outbreak-surges/